Shimizu M, et al. - Whether or not reaction time (RT) as a cognitive function and grip strength (GS) as a physical function were associated, alone or in combination, with mortality from heart disease or stroke was investigated in this analysis. The subjects comprised of 4,901 Adult Health Study members in Hiroshima who had undergone RT and GS measurements, were 35-74 years old at baseline (1970-1972) and were followed to the end of 2007. The findings demonstrated that RT and GS, alone and in combination, predicted heart disease and stroke mortalities. For prevention of cardiovascular disease mortality, interventions for both cognitive function and physical function might be beneficial.