People living at higher altitudes face fewer odds of dying from heart disease than those closer to sea level, even if they have heightened risk factors, according to research by Greek scientists made public in London yesterday.

“Residence in mountainous areas seems to have a protective effect from total and coronary mortality,” Dr Nikos Baibas of the University of Athens said in a report in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. “The contrast was more evident among men than among women.”

He and his colleagues suspect that the increased exercise from walking up mountainous terrain gives the heart a good workout and enables it to cope with less oxygen.

The researchers studied the health records and death rates of 1,150 people who lived in three villages near Athens over 15 years. One village was 1,000 meters above sea level and the other two were in low-lying areas. (Reuters)