James' World 2

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When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, one of the biggest questions was: Why do some people get so much sicker than others? It’s a question that has forced researchers to confront some deep mysteries of the human body and come to conclusions that have startled them.

By the fall of 2020, psychiatrists were reporting that among the many groups who were high risk, people with psychiatric disorders, broadly, seemed to be getting more severe forms of Covid-19 at a higher rate. Katlyn Nemani, an NYU neuropsychiatrist, decided to dig deeper, asking: Just how much more at risk, and which conditions?

In January, she and a group of colleagues published a study of 7,348 Covid-19 patients in New York. One finding was stark: People with a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis faced more than two and a half times the average person’s risk of dying from Covid-19, even after controlling for the many other factors that affect Covid-19 outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and demographic factors — age, sex, and race.

“That was a pretty shocking finding,” Nemani says. The patients all were hospitalized in the same medical system, in the same region, which implies they weren’t receiving radically different treatments, she says. In sum, it all suggests that the risk was closely linked to the mental illness itself and not to some other variable.

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High blood pressure remains a leading cause of death and disability in America today. Nearly half of adults have high blood pressure, and only a quarter of them have their blood pressure under control, putting them at increased risk of heart attack, stroke, dementia, kidney disease and other ills.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, high blood pressure caused or contributed to more than half a million deaths a year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those numbers have most likely increased, as blood pressure readings have shot up during the pandemic.

You may have long thought your blood pressure was within normal limits. But in 2017, based on better long-term data, experts lowered the numbers that constitute a healthy blood pressure, resulting in a greater proportion of the population with this risky condition. The former upper limit of “normal” blood pressure, once believed to be 140 over 90 millimeters of mercury, was recognized as too high to prevent serious health problems over time. The current upper limit of normal is 130 over 80, and a blood pressure consistently above 120 over 80 is now considered problematic.

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Rachel Levit Ruiz

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Pull-ups are a foundational strength training exercise that can help you build muscle, with nothing more than bodyweight and a sturdy bar. While they require upper body strength, core stability, and coordination, even beginners can work up to doing full pull-ups, according to fitness experts. 

Whether you’re trying to get your first one or want to rep out 100, using variations of the exercise to develop perfect form can help you make steady progress.

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Living a heart-healthy lifestyle is important—we know this. Still, in the United States, cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death, which means heart disease prevention should be at the top of everyone’s priority list.

Fortunately, we learned a lot this year from cardiologists, heart health experts, new research, and the American Health Association (AHA) about what you can do to keep your ticker in tip-top shape. 

Ahead, our top learnings this year, each of which can help decrease your risk of health disease and improve your overall well-being. 

Yes, walking is enough exercise

On days or weeks when you’re super busy (which, let’s be honest, is most of the time for many of us), it can be challenging to squeeze in a workout—never mind having the energy to do said workout. The good news is that, according to cardiologists, an easy, breezy, 15-minute walk around the block is enough to contribute to a healthy heart and body as a whole. 

The morbidity (illness and disease) and mortality benefits of walking happen regardless of how fast your heart beats per minute while doing it. Of course, increasing your cardiovascular fitness and earning even more morbidity and mortality points requires increasing your heart rate and going longer distances.

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Photo: Getty Images/ Oliver Rossi

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Lower back pain might be one of life’s great mysteries, and unlike, say, Bigfoot, many of us have experienced back pain IRL. Still, it’s challenging to pinpoint the origin because your spine and muscular system are interconnected. One surprising culprit behind back pain? For some people, it involves tight hamstrings. The good news? There are ways to relieve your pain and prevent further discomfort through exploring stretches and strength training. Below, we break down why tight hamstrings happen, how they cause back pain, and how to stretch these large and important muscles.

What are hamstrings, anyway?

The hamstrings are a group of three muscles—semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and biceps femoris—that run from your hips along the back of your thighs to your knees, according to the medical information library Statpearls. They’re essential for standing, walking, sprinting, and assisting knee mobility. So when they are weak or tight, you might feel it in the lower back. This is because tight hamstrings pull your pelvis backward, making it difficult for the glutes to participate in things like standing and walking, which increases the strain on the lower back, according to Jerome Enad, MD, board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine. This pulling goes against the spine’s natural curvature, contributing to lower back strain. Dr. Enad says this tilt might also reduce the spine’s shock absorption, further agitating the nerves in the spine.

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Time: 5 minutes

Equipment: 5 to 10-pound kettlebell or dumbbell, mat

Good for: Abs

Instructions: For each move, perform as many reps as indicated. Continue to the next move. After you’ve completed all three moves, rest for 30 seconds, then you have the option to repeat the five-minute circuit two to three times if you want to dial up the intensity even more.

Sweat trainer Kelsey Wells says she uses this abs sequence as part of her PWR At Home workout program. It’s perfect for clients who want to transform their core and even helped Kelsey get sculpted and toned during her own fitness journey.

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Photos by Women’s Health US

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