Ladies, here’s another reason to avoid age spots and lines — women with fewer wrinkles are found to have lower blood pressure, lower risk of heart disease and stroke, and increased longevity compared to their older-looking counterparts, according to a recent study.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that 67 million American adults suffer from high blood pressure, which leads to an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. High blood pressure occurs when the heart is forced to pump more blood through a person's arteries, which are typically narrow.

Publishing in the Journals of Gerontology, a team of researchers from Unilever — a food, home, and personal care product supplier — and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands collaborated to investigate whether a person’s perceived age had any effect on the health of his or her heart. A total of 514 adults, both male and female and 63 years old on average, were part of the sample size in the study.

First, the researchers separated the 260 women into two groups based on high and low risk of heart disease. The youthfulness of the female participants were then assessed by analyzing the facial appearance and evaluating the wrinkles on their inner arm — the place least likely to show signs of premature aging from the sun, reports Time magazine. Women who were placed in the lowest heart disease risk group were found to look two years younger than those in the other group based on photographs of their face.

“We identified that blood pressure was driving the link between cardiovascular disease risk and perceived age. It is the first time a link between low blood pressure and youthful looks has been proven," said Dr. David Gunn, a Unilever senior scientist, in a news release.

Following the first finding, the researchers then sought to compare the group of women who had a lower cardiovascular disease risk and youthful appearance to a group of men and women from families with long-living members. This comparison would help determine if it was genetics or cosmetics and/or procedures that helped these women look younger. The researchers also noted if women opted for procedures, then they were more likely to also afford the latest drugs and therapies to keep themselves heart-healthy.

The second experiment revealed that men selected from long-living families looked younger when compared to a control group of the same age, and women and men from long-living families overall had less skin wrinkling on their upper arm compared to the same-age control group. The findings show for the first time that youthful appearance is directly linked to familial longevity.

“Our initial findings suggest that families who age healthily are also endowed with slower skin ageing and, for males, a more youthful face. The next stage is to understand what is happening inside the skin of these youthful individuals to find out more about their ageing secrets,” Gunn said.

The researchers hope these results will encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and to remain vigilant when it comes to their health, such as routinely checking their blood pressure.

In a similar study, researchers found that people who were active by walking to work, taking public transportation, or riding a bike dropped their high blood pressure rates. Those who walked to work lowered their blood pressure levels by 17 percent.

Moderate physical activity can combat the risk of several diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. The CDC recommends adults engage in at least two hours and 30 minutes of aerobic physical activity at a moderate level or one hour and 15 minutes of aerobic physical activity at a vigorous level each week.

To learn about natural ways to lower high blood pressure, click here.