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A rise in your resting pulse during middle age may indicate an increased risk of dying from heart disease, new research suggests. The study included more than 29,000 middle-aged adults. They did not have high blood pressure or heart disease when the study began. Researchers measured their resting heart rate at the start of the study and again 10 years later. They looked at what happened to people whose resting heart rate was under 70 beats per minute at the start of the study. Those whose heart rate rose to 85 or higher in 10 years had a 90% higher risk of heart-related death than those whose heart rate did not rise. The increase in risk was 80% for people who started out with a heart rate of 70 to 85 but had an increase to more than 85. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it December 20.

Taking vitamin D pills reduces the risk of fracture in adults over 65. But this benefit occurs only if they also take calcium. That’s the conclusion of a new study that put together the results of 50 prior studies. The report came from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. This is an expert group that provides advice on preventive care to health professionals. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it December 19. The report author told HealthDay that the group could not advise specific doses. People in the studies reviewed took from 300 to 1,100 international units of vitamin D. The calcium doses they took daily ranged from 500 to 1,200 milligrams.