Sit on the floor and extend your legs straight out. If you’re limber enough to touch your toes, then your cardiac arteries are probably flexible, too, according to a 2009 study. This could lessen the odds you’ll have a heart attack, because supple arterial walls allow the blood to move freely through the body, says study author Kenta Yamamoto, PhD, a research fellow in the department of integrative physiology at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, in Fort Worth. Rigid arteries, in contrast, require the heart to work much harder, which over time could make you more susceptible to a heart attack or stroke. Preliminary research suggests you may slow age-related stiffening of these arteries by doing exercises that increase muscle flexibility.

Originally published in the May 2010 issue of More.