Your heart is a muscle, and like the rest of the muscles in your body, it needs exercise to become strong. The latest research findings suggest that working out your muscles and making them strong can help strengthen your heart and improve cardiovascular health. The study suggests that the heart becomes strong through strong muscles as a result of the skeletal release of myokines or improvement in intestinal microbiota.
Mikel Izquierdo, head of the Physical Exercise, Life Cycle, Active Ageing and Health research group (E-FIT) and member of the Institute of Health Research of Navarre (IdiSNA) explained, “The loss of muscle strength and mass is one of the ‘forgotten’ risk factors in cardiovascular disease. Yet it can be corrected with a strength training programme, even in elderly individuals.”
Advertisement
The authors of the study stressed that “unlike most drugs, exercise is largely free of adverse effects, and its benefits are to a certain extent dose-dependent.” When your body adapts to one type of exercise, you can always increase it or make it more challenging to get more out of the exercise.
The researchers have a view of cardiovascular disease that the heart should not be isolated and that it is part of other systems.
This may help explain why strengthening the musculoskeletal system works to support the heart. This view also includes “the interaction between the heart and blood vessels with other tissue, including skeletal muscle, adipose tissue and even the intestine, by also using a range of approaches of an epidemiological, physiological and molecular type.”
This type of view of cardiovascular disease may help physicians recommend exercise to patients as a means of reducing heart disease risk. By improving other systems, you can also improve cardiovascular health.
The American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate activity for five days a week or 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least three days a week for optimal heart health.
Also read:
- How to recover from muscle atrophy with diet and exercises
- 10 foods to help prevent clogged arteries naturally
Devon Andre has been involved in the health and dietary supplement industry for a number of years. Devon has written extensively for Bel Marra Health. He has a Bachelor of Forensic Science from the University of Windsor, and went on to complete a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh. Devon is keenly aware of trends and new developments in the area of health and wellness. He embraces an active lifestyle combining diet, exercise and healthy choices. By working to inform readers of the options available to them, he hopes to improve their health and quality of life.
