daily cardio workout to lower heart disease

#Daily cardio workout to lower heart disease drivers

Pavel1964 | Shutterstock A combination of weightlifting and endurance training is best “We, therefore, speculate that participants doing resistance training burn more calories during the day - also in inactive periods-compared to those engaged in endurance training,” says Christensen. The study does not explain why weight training may be more effective than endurance training, but the authors say that other studies have shown that resistance training is better at increasing muscle mass and basal metabolism.

“We did not combine resistance and endurance training, which would have been interesting to reveal their potential additive effects,” they say. The researchers did not try combining the two forms of exercise but emphasized that either type was more beneficial than not exercising at all. This specific exercise intervention alone was effective in reducing both fat depots of the heart.” Participants performed three to five sets of 10 exercises and the sessions were supervised. The resistance exercise training in this study was designed as a 45-minute interval type, medium load, high-repetition, time-based training. However, any impact on pericardial adipose tissue was only seen in the weight training group, which saw a reduction of 31% compared with the control group. None of the participants had existing heart problems or diabetes.Įach person underwent an MRI scan of their heart at baseline and at the end of the study to assess both epicardial adipose tissue mass and pericardial adipose tissue.Ĭompared with the control group who did not exercise, the aerobic exercise reduced epicardial adipose tissue mass by 32% and weight training reduced it by 24%. To investigate the impact that different types of exercise may have on heart fat, Regitse Hojgaard Christensen from Copenhagen University Hospital and team randomly assigned 32 individuals who were obese and did not exercise to 12 weeks of weight training, aerobic exercise, or no change in physical activity. To reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, the NHS recommends following a healthy diet and engaging in exercise, since both of these lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol levels. Less is known about the impact pericardial adipose tissue has on heart function, but the authors of the current study say it has been exclusively associated with cardiovascular risk factors, coronary calcification, and the incidence of coronary heart disease.Īccording to the World Health Organization, heart disease kills one in three people every day worldwide, which equates to 17.9 million per year. Epicardial adipose tissue has been shown to promote the build-up of fatty plaques in atherosclerosis and to restrict blood flow around the body.

#Daily cardio workout to lower heart disease drivers

Obesity, which is caused by a poor diet and lack of exercise, can lead to a build-up of the fatty material or adipose tissue around the heart.īoth epicardial adipose tissue and pericardial adipose tissue are recognized as drivers of heart disease. Epicardial and pericardial fat drives heart diseaseĬardiovascular disease is caused by the accumulation of fatty plaques in arteries (atherosclerosis), something which can be prevented by increasing physical exercise and following a healthy diet. The team found that a type of heart fat called pericardial adipose tissue was reduced among participants who did weighted exercises such as lunges with dumbbells or weighted push-ups, but not among those who did endurance training with aerobic exercise.īoth types of exercise did reduce levels of another type of heart fat called epicardial adipose tissue, which has also been associated with cardiovascular disease. Their study found that both types of exercise reduced heart fat among obese individuals, but that resistance training was more likely to reduce a certain type of dangerous heart fat that has been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Researchers in Copenhagen have found that weightlifting may offer more protection against heart disease than cardio exercise does.