Living at High Altitude Reduces Heart Disease Death Risk

Researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine (Colorado, USA) in partnership with the Harvard School of Global Health (Massachusetts, USA) find that people living at higher altitudes have a lower chance of dying from ischemic heart disease and tend to live longer than others.  Benjamin Honigman, from University of Colorado reported that: “Lower oxygen levels turn on certain genes and we think those genes may change the way heart muscles function. They may also produce new blood vessels that create new highways for blood flow into the heart.” As well, the team speculates that increased solar radiation at altitude helps the body better synthesize vitamin D, which has also been shown to have beneficial effects on the heart and some kinds of cancer.