A higher resting heart rate can raise the chances of a heart attack in middle-aged women and exercise can be the best antidote, according to a new study available on Sunday.

In the study, researchers at the George Washington University used data on 129,135 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative.

The findings showed that the 20 percent of women who had heart rates of 76 beats a minute or greater had a 26 percent greater risk of a heart attack in a follow-up period of 7.8 years.

"It's pretty well-established for men that higher heart rates are associated with a higher risk for heart attack," said Dr. Judith Hsia, lead author of the study which appears on the Feb. issue of the British Medical Journa.

Heart rate should be part of a physician's overall assessment of coronary risk in women as well as men, she said.

Heart rate doesn't seem to matter in younger women, she said. But a higher heart rate in a woman over 50 would indicate a need for the recommended lifestyle modifications needed to prevent cardiovascular problems -- a low-fat diet, lower blood pressure, avoiding obesity and more physical activity, Hsia said.

Physical activity is the key element in prevention for these women, said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women and heart disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

"It's the same as in an athlete who is well-conditioned," Steinbaum said. "When you exercise, you increase the tone of the autonomic nervous system, which causes a decrease in heart rate and a decrease in blood pressure."

The autonomic nervous system controls such basic body functions as blood pressure and digestion. "Exercise is the most potent medication we have for improving autonomic function," Steinbaum said. "If we say that exercise is essential, we know why a lower resting heart rate leads to a better outcome."

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2009)