The Exercise - Brain Health Link: More Evidence

A new study out of Iceland finds that people who exercise regularly in midlife have a lower incidence of stroke-like brain damage forty years later.

Men who had exercised one or more hours per week in 1967 had 50% - 70% lower risk of brain infarcts when given an MRI forty years later. Women had a 20% - 50% lower risk.

An infarct is an area of cells that die because of obstructed blood flow. A stroke is caused by a type of infarction.

It's not news that exercise lowers stroke risk. The new study shows that the benefits last for decades.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Many stroke risk factors are also risk factors for heart disease, the leading cause of death.