Helping out in a charity shop and holding tea parties for others is believed to be linked to a lower risk of strokes and heart attacks, as volunteers are likely to make more friends and age healthily.
A study of more than 1,000 older adults found those who give up more than 200 hours a year to volunteer reduce their risk of high blood pressure by 40 per cent - suggesting helping others could be the new alternative to prescription drugs to control blood pressure.
Psychologist Rodlescia Sneed, who led the research, said: "Everyday, we are learning more about how negative lifestyle factors like poor diet and lack of exercise increase hypertension risk.
"Here, we wanted to determine if a positive lifestyle factor like volunteer work could actually reduce disease risk.
"And, the results give older adults an example of something that they can actively do to remain healthy and age successfully."
In the UK there are an estimated 62,000 unnecessary deaths a year from stroke and heart problems because of poor blood pressure control. Depression is thought to be linked to a higher number of falls in the elderly, and isolation has previously been shown to be linked to dementia.
A total of 1,164 people aged 51 to 91 from across the US took part in the study and were asked about the voluntary work they did. Those who did more than 200 hours a year were found to be 40 per cent less likely to have developed high blood pressure – with the time, not the type, of volunteering the important factor.
Professor Sheldon Sneed, of Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, said: “There is strong evidence that having good social connections promotes healthy ageing and reduces risk for a number of negative health outcomes."
The study was published in the American Psychological Association's Psychology and Aging journal.