A research team led by Dr. Phyllis Stein has found that a key measure of the heart’s ability to adapt to physical activity, stress, sleep and other factors that influence the rate at which the heart pumps blood, doesn’t decline nearly as rapidly in people who have significantly restricted their caloric intake for an average of seven years. They found that people who restrict their caloric intake in an effort to live longer have hearts that function more like those in people who are 20 years younger. The study is available online in the journal Aging Cell.