Can Treadmills Predict Mortality?

Cardiologists from John Hopkins University have created a formula that can estimate a person’s risk of dying over the next decade. The researchers analyzed data taken from more than 58,000 heart stress tests and found that a person’s ability—or level of difficulty—to exercise on a treadmill at an increased speed and incline can help predict the percentile risk of their chance of dying over the next decade. Part of the formula uses the peak heart rate that is reached during intense exercise as well as using MET’s—or Maximum Exercise Testing—to see how a person tolerates physical exertion. The testing of study participants was successful in translating basic treadmill performance measures into a fitness-related mortality risk score. bit.ly/1FqbLF1