What if instead of having surgery to open up a clogged artery, your doctor told you it would be a better idea to log 30 minutes on the bike? According to findings presented at the European Congress of Cardiology 2009, cardio can actually be more effective than going under the knife. Plus, it's a lot more fun and costs a tad less, too.

If it seems too good to be true, honestly, there's no catch. "A moderate aerobic workout like biking or brisk walking for about a half hour a day or at least five days a week can train your heart to be healthier so you won't need a stent," says Dr. Christopher Cannon, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. A consistent exercise plan slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure so your heart doesn't have to work as hard. "Therefore it can make do with a slightly reduced amount of blood from the blockage," says Cannon.

Cardiovascular risk gradually increases for everyone as we age, but the risk jumps sharply after menopause. "Although we don't know why for certain, it's likely estrogen acts as a protector against heart disease," Cannon says. "As estrogen levels decrease it leaves women more vulnerable." And here's a fact to ward off any thoughts you might be having resembling, 'this won't happen to me': The American Heart Association's latest figures show 1,314,000 angioplasties -- the procedure that inserts the stent -- were done in the United States in 2006.

Photo: Andrea Cross

While everyone knows 43-year-old Dara Torres is a five-time Olympian, here are two other amazing facts about her: On August 1, 2007, just 15 months after giving birth to her first child at age 40, Torres won the gold in the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals. Then three days later, she twice broke her own American record in the 50-meter freestyle that she had originally set 26 years before. I caught up with her in the midst of her latest project, BP's Younger for Longer Challenge, to find out more about it and to learn how she stays in such stellar shape.

That's Fit: What was your impetus for this project?

Dara Torres: I've always maintained that age is just a number, and we should never put an age limit on our dreams. This is a contest that perpetuates that message. It reaches out to both men and women encouraging them to share their ideas in an essay about what keeps them young and healthy. (The winner wins $10,000 worth of BP gasoline with invigorate, a new formula designed to help keep cars running longer, and a one-on-one with Dara. Click here to enter.)

TF: What's the single most essential aspect of your life that you feel keeps you youthful?

DT: Fitness. It's always been a part of my life. My daughter's only 3, but I already have her taking gymnastics, dance and swimming classes. It doesn't have to be a purposeful workout, you just need to get out there and move, even if it's just a brisk daily walk. Exercise not only makes you feel younger, it relieves stress, and you automatically look better. It's a win-win.

Photo: Mike Baird, Flickr

About a month ago, while running from one end of the supermarket to the other in a mad rush, I tripped over my flip flop and went flying across three check-out aisles, hitting the concrete-hard floor. But because I do push-ups regularly, all I suffered was severe humiliation and a bruised knee.

When we fall forward, we typically reach out and our hands hit the ground first. If we're strong enough, our wrists and arms absorb much of the impact. Researchers who study the biomechanics of aging say push-ups are an effective way to strengthen your upper body so you can break a fall safely. If that's not enough incentive to get you into them, how's this: You'll also sculpt enviously sexy cocktail dress arms and shoulders. Ah, now I have your attention.

"The exercise is regarded as the ultimate measure of physical fitness for a reason: In order to lift your entire body weight, you need to engage almost every major muscle group - the arms, chest, abs, hips and legs," says Adam Feldman, a personal trainer in Nanuet, NY. So it's damn hard. But when you can drop and do 10 without a sweat, you'll feel a sense of pride you just don't get from doing a bicep curl. "We included a push-up in the Challenge this year and women felt strong and empowered when they were able to master it!" espouses Self's Fitness Director, Meaghan B. Murphy.

Photo: Peppergrasss, Flickr

Last week, I let you in on a wonderful secret: Kegel exercises can not only cure your incontinence, they can improve the intensity of your orgasms. But it's not the only solution for these embarrassing leaks, even if it is the most enticing.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and detailed in The New York Times found shedding just 8 percent of your excess pounds can relieve enough pressure to cut accidents nearly in half. The clinical trial included 338 overweight and obese women who had at least 10 urinary incontinence episodes a week. This makes sense since all that extra baggage bears down, putting pressure on your bladder and pelvic floor. The average age of the women was 53.

Regular moderate aerobic activity has also been shown to help women between the ages of 54 and 79 according to a report published in Urologic Nursing. Look at this as one more reason to get moving! Take a hike, ride your bike, swim laps, go kayaking or enroll in a dance class.

I don't know about you, but my strength routine doesn't include toning the muscles in my vagina. Yet experts at the recent American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition announced that those muscles, referred to as the pelvic floor, are an overlooked aspect of women's health, particularly as we age.

Photo: Datu Ramel

These muscles often weaken as a result of childbirth and menopause and can cause incontinence, an accidental release of urine that can happen from just coughing or laughing. And if you're one of the 20 million women with the condition, that can't make you feel too sexy -- particularly during beach season. But here's the good news: Kegel exercises can help. And in a study conducted by the Women's Health Foundation, in which incontinent women did pelvic exercises, the results showed a good deal more than improvements in bladder control: Over a third of the women reported more powerful orgasms and better sex overall.

"Stronger muscles improve circulation which in turn creates more intense orgasms," says Jennifer Hebert-Beirne, the Director of Research & Development at the WHF.

That's Fit gals are all talking about her -- Dara Torres -- the Olympic swimmer and middle-aged mom. Jacki recently shared an informative overview of Torres and Kristen provided specifics on her fitness routine. Consider us Dara-spired. Hint to Kellogg's marketing squad, 35-and-over women will pounce on boxes of Special K if Torres is on it.

Dara-spiration exudes through her beautiful smile, her ability to tackle motherhood and develop into an even more powerful Olympic-level swimmer with a fitness regimen that works for her age. Accepting and creatively making accommodations for our aging or injured bodies is key to lifelong fitness. Torres recognized her body needs more recovery time between workouts than when she was younger, so she works out differently. Not only that, Torres raised her hand to become one of a dozen athletes openly submitting to a new, comprehensive drug-testing program by the United States Anti-Doping Agency -- she's clean.

I'm 41-years-old, just like Torres. I have a four-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son. I love competition, whether it's a golf tournament or "who can run around the house the fastest." I want to exit my 40s -- typically the decade of getting soft -- Dara-lean and taut. Witnessing Torres anchor the relay team to a silver medal at the 2008 Games delivered a jolt of spine-tingling Dara-spiration and pride. After that performance, I wouldn't be surprised if middle-aged moms everywhere ate right the next morning and headed outdoors for a bike, jog or a few laps in the pool. Anyone else Dara-spired? Check out these new pics of Torres in the gallery!

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Little girls born in Japan in 2007 have the longest life expectancy of any other people on the planet... 86 years. Though life expectancy is a complicated issue, experts say that Japanese women live so long in part because of their healthy diet and unique social structure, as well as advancements made in medical care. Boys born in Japan last year can expect to live 79.2 years, while residents of Iceland and Hong Kong aren't far behind.

The flip side of this is that Japan's birth rate is also very low, which leaves the Japanese government in a unique position -- how to run a country with an aging population without a younger population to back them up?

Still, the Japanese are definitely doing something right. About.com digs a little deeper into the hows and whys of the long life spans of Japan.

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Are you envious of your bed partner, who drifts off to sleep quickly while you toss and turn? Do you find yourself lying awake at night, despite your best efforts to fall asleep? You aren't alone. Insomnia is a common condition that steals precious sleep from those who need it, and a lack of sleep can have a serious impact on your health, including weight gain.

The first step in treating insomnia is identifying the cause. Forbes has an excellent gallery to help you do just that. Their 14 reasons you aren't sleeping covers topics like:

• relationship trouble
• co-sleeping with children
• pregnancy
• being a woman
• medications
• sleep disorders
• stress
• poor sleeping habits or environment
• worry
• age
• heart disease
• depression
  

If this sounds like you, you might already be on your road to recovery. Try and make some lifestyle or environmental adjustments, and if that doesn't work, speak to your doctor to see if your health may be part of the cause. While you're at it, visit AOL Health to see what they're saying about sleep.

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A couple months ago, my best friend turned 36. Since I'll be following suit in a few short months, I didn't mind telling her that 36 sounds a whole heck of a lot more like 40 than 35 did. Somehow, at 35, I could still fool myself that I was in my young 30s. But fooling time is over. I'm rounding 40 in a few short years and it's time to face the facts.

Luckily, age is all a matter of perspective. (I remember dreading 28 for some reason, too. It just sounded OLD at the time!) So when I hit 40, I want to be fit and fabulous like the Sex and the City girls. (Without wearing weird hats at premieres ... and drinking too many cosmos ... and wearing ridiculously high heels .. and having fly-by-night relationships with men. OK, maybe I don't want to be like them after all.)

Revolution Health has a list of healthful ways to look your best when the big four-oh hits. Check out the gallery for some of their ideas.

Keeping up with kids isn't always easy. Keeping up with kids when you're a grandparent can be downright dangerous if you aren't prepared to exert yourself. Grandparents today are more hip and active than ever, but because parents today are often waiting longer to start a family, grandparents are also comparatively older than their peers in earlier generations.

A severe injury in the later decades can mean trouble for grandparents, which is why experts recommend a simple fitness plan, doctor-approved of course. Most of us should be getting 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day, but if you've been sedentary, it's perfectly fine to make your goals much more modest until you build up endurance.

Fitness experts also recommend a regular strength training routine as well as balance exercises to prevent injuries down the road. And as always, fitness doesn't have to happen in a vacuum -- make it a family affair!

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Surprised about that headline? So was I.

A research team from Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University followed 1,000 seniors for up to 15 years. Their surprising results showed that women with higher anxiety levels at the beginning of the study tended to live longer. Researchers surmise it's because the anxiety might cause the women to seek medical attention more frequently. More research is needed to understand exactly why the anxiety seems to have a protective effect on older women. On the other hand, men with high anxiety levels were more likely to die earlier.

It's an interesting study, but as for me, I'd rather reduce stress and anxiety. Want to find out your stress score? Check out AOL Body's Life Change Stress Test.

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They say that the Grinch had a heart that was two-sizes too small. He must have been over 50.

Several studies have noted that the chambers of the heart shrink as we age, but a recent study found that it actually happens rather dramatically around age 50. Researchers looked at 218 health participants who had no underlying health problems and were surprised to find that they could actually pinpoint when the change occurs.

Hypertension is considered an age-related condition by the American Heart Association. When the heart shrinks, researchers believe that blood pressure increases, which may explain why people over 50 may have a harder time controlling their blood pressure.

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Want to look younger? Who doesn't? But what if you could actually be younger, at least in comparison to your peers. A new study suggests that people who are regularly physically active may not only ward off age-related diseases but might actually be biologically younger than those who don't exercise at all.

Researchers measured leukocyte telomeres, which (long story short) may shorten as people age. Those who exercised regularly had longer telomeres than those who didn't. In some cases, telomere length in active people was the same as that in those who were 10 years younger.

It's not cut-and-dried research, but it's a pretty firm indicator that exercise is an important part of a long and healthy life.

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As I've said many times before here on That's Fit, it's never too late to start exercising. Barring any doctor-issued mandate against doing so, performing even low-intensity workouts can greatly enhance your health at any age.

A recent study, published in the popular journal Hypertension, examined the effects of exercise on men in their 20s and men in their 60s. As expected, the older men started with more constricted blood vessels, increasing their risk for hypertension and heart attack. But, after only three months of averaging 5 hours per week worth of walking, the older guys' blood-vessel function resembled that of the guys in their 20s.

Walking as little as 30 minutes per day can have a very positive impact on your cardiovascular health, in addition to offering a myriad of other health benefits.

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A recent survey, by lifestyle website Wanobe.com, revealed that people over 50 are more likely to have sex on a first date than those who are under 40. In addition, 50 percent of the over 50 group rated lust and passion as more important than marriage.

Nearly 40 percent of the over-50s would sleep with a partner on a first meeting – compared with just 18 percent of under-40s.

Wanobe managing director David Noble, 60, said: "Being over 50 doesn't mean you give up on love. The under-30s may feel they invented sexual liberation, but it was the baby-boomer generation that staged the first summer of love – more than 40 years ago."

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