SINGAPORE - Researchers here have found a potential predictor of heart disease among the elderly, after discovering a link between the weakening of skeletal muscle function and heart size. The skeletal muscle is attached to bones around the body and helps with muscle movement. The age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function is known as sarcopenia, and it affects 10 per cent of older healthy adults. While such skeletal muscle degeneration is known, the impact of sarcopenia on the ageing heart had not been identified. This was what the study led by the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) sought to address. The longitudinal study, known as the Cardiac Ageing Study, began in 2014 and involved more than 300 healthy adults between 40 and 80 years old. It aimed to study the characteristics of how the heart ages - in both structure and function - within the local population. Based on detailed scans and various assessments such as skeletal muscle mass measurements and hand grip strength tests, the researchers found significant associations between skeletal muscle mass, function and heart structure. Over 20 per cent of older adults with sarcopenia had a distinct pattern of struc...