Why Exercise is Good for Your Heart
Reported October 23, 2007
(Ivanhoe Newswire) Oct. 23, 2007 — New research lays out the science behind the effect exercise has on a persons cardiovascular risk.
Researchers from Harvard analyzed several risk factors and levels of exercise for more than 27,000 women who had a new diagnosis of heart attack and stroke. Women in the study ranged between 45 to 90 years old. Results show a 40-percent reduced risk of heart attack and stroke between the highest and lowest exercise groups. Researchers emphasize that the long-term benefits of exercise were seen at relatively low levels of exercise — just two hours of physical activity a week.
In the study, researchers sought to understand the mechanisms behind the benefits of exercise. They found Inflammatory and hemostatic biomarkers, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 together made the largest contribution to lower risk (33 percent). Blood pressure was next in line (27 percent). Researchers say inflammatory and hemostatic biomarkers are novel risk factors that relate to blood vessel function and inflammation of the arteries. They say these factors have overlapping functions and roles and had the biggest effect in mediating exercise-related cardioprotection, even more than blood pressure or body weight.
Samia Mora, M.D., from Harvard, is quoted as saying, Regular physical activity is enormously beneficial in preventing heart attack and stroke. We found that even modest changes in risk factors for heart disease and stroke, especially those related to inflammation/hemostasis and blood pressure can have a profound impact on preventing clinical events. This study is the first to examine the importance of a variety of known risk factors in explaining how physical activity prevents heart disease and stroke.
Additionally, the risk of having a heart attack and stroke decreased as the levels of physical activity among women in the study increased.
SOURCE: Circulation, 2007;116: (???)