Heart disease can crop up on anyone, but depending on one’s genetics, some may be more prone to it than others.
If you’re wondering which group has the most people with healthy hearts, it’s the Tsimane people in the forests of Bolivia!
Lifestyle plays a huge factor here: their hunting-gathering way of life, similar to human civilization thousands of years ago, already sets them apart from the rest of the world at risk for clogged arteries.
Their people are physically active, with the men averaging at 17,000 steps a day and the women at 16,000, a stark contrast from most people’s struggle to get to 10,000 steps.
Scientists examined the Tsimane, scanning about 705 hearts in a CT scan. They discovered that virtually no Tsimanes at the age of 45 had CAC (coronary artery calcium) in their arteries, a sign of clogged arteries, while 25% of Americans do.
At 75 years old, two-thirds of the Tsimane people have no trace of CAC in their arteries, while the overwhelming majority of Americans (80%) have signs of CAC.
We could really pick up a thing or two from the Tsimane!
Thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!
