Regular Exercise Can Help Preserve/Build Heart Mass

Having a big heart - the right way.

Another benefit of regular exercise has been discovered--preventing the reduction in heart mass normally seen with aging.

Speaking at a press conference on the opening day of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2011 Scientific Sessions, Dr Paul Bhella (John Peter Smith Hospital, Fort Worth, TX) explained that heart muscle size--typically measured by left ventricular (LV) mass--peaks early in life and diminishes with sedentary aging.

Bhella conducted a study to look at the effect of regular exercise on this process and found that being physically active over the course of a lifetime can "preserve the heart's youthful elasticity." He noted that as the heart muscle atrophies with age, the heart becomes weaker, less capable of responding to increasing demands such as those associated with physical activity, and, in many circumstances, this leads to a stiffening of the heart by increasing the relative proportion of connective tissue compared with cardiac muscle...

To heartwire , Bhella commented: "You have to use it or lose it. It is never too late to start exercising. Exercising twice a week can prevent age-related loss of cardiac mass, while exercising four to five times a week can rebuild cardiac mass. This is the first time anybody has shown this."

He explained that while higher cardiac mass has not directly been shown to cause better outcomes, it is associated with increased levels of fitness, which has been shown to be associated with better outcomes. He stressed that all the increases were in the healthy range...

Train and get fit.