Strong chest and back muscles linked to lower risk of a heart attack
· News-MedicalThe new study grouped people based on how their muscle appeared in scan images, and investigated rates of heart attacks and early deaths using their health records.
For every 10-point increase in scan brightness, indicating better quality muscle with less fat in it, a person was calculated to be 31 percent less likely to have a heart attack. They were also 39 percent less likely to die in the 10 years after having the scan.
This was seen, even after taking into account other factors which may increase people’s risk of heart attacks and death, including their age, sex and the amount of calcium which had built up in their arteries. The AI used in the study took no longer than a minute to measure the quality of someone’s muscle from a single scan. A radiologist would take several hours to do the same thing.
More evidence is needed on how people’s muscle quality may affect their heart health or risk of dying prematurely. The researchers say it is likely that people who exercise enough to have strong muscles in their upper body have a healthy lifestyle which protects their heart in other ways.
The researchers say all kinds of exercise, and not just strength-training, can improve muscle density. It is not simply about being muscly, as the size of people’s muscles was not linked to their risk of a heart attack or early death - suggesting it is the composition of the muscle which matters. Good-quality muscles in the chest and back, which the study examined, are likely to reflect good muscle quality throughout the body.
The results suggest that routine heart scans could in future be used to identify people with less good-quality muscle who may be at greater risk of heart attacks. These higher risk people could then be helped to exercise more, be monitored more closely, or prioritized for drugs such as statins, which can reduce the risk of a heart attack. However more research is needed before scans could be relied upon in this way.
“Every time we move, we are making a positive difference to our muscles, our blood vessels and our overall health, and regular exercise can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to a third.”
This October, women can put the benefits of strength training into practice by taking on the BHF’s Strong Woman Challenge.
The free 31-day challenge is designed by women, for women, and offers expert support, daily exercises and video demonstrations to help participants build strength while raising funds for lifesaving cardiovascular research.
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