If you want to do a quick check to see how healthy your arteries are, sit down on the floor with your legs straight in front of you and see how far you can reach beyond your toes.

An article in The American Journal of Physiology points out that arterial stiffness often precedes cardiovascular disease, and suggests that this simple test could become a quick measure of individual risk for early mortality from heart attack or stroke.

There is no clear evidence that body trunk flexibility is related to arterial stiffening, but the report suggests that stretching exercises may set into motion physiological reactions that slow down age-related arterial stiffening.

Healthy blood vessels have elasticity, which helps to moderate blood pressure. Previous studies have established that physical fitness can delay age-related arterial stiffness, although exactly how that happens is not understood.

Flexibility exercises, such as stretching, yoga and Pilates may be beneficial for arterial health in people over age 40, according to the study, which measured trunk flexibility against blood pressure, pulse and the time it took for the pulse to travel between the arm and ankle.

Further research is needed to understand whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship between flexibility and arterial stiffness.