How can exercise prevent cardiovascular disease? Cardiology Basics

How can exercise prevent cardiovascular disease? Cardiology Basics

Dr. Paul Dudley White, the famous physician who has taught many a luminary in the field of cardiology once wrote that heart disease before eighty is our fault and not God’s will or nature’s will.

This means that he recognized long back, the role of life-style modification in preventing heart disease. Exercise in a regular pattern is one of the important life style modifications which everyone can adopt to prevent or delay cardiovascular disease. Exercise helps in various ways for prevention of cardiovascular disease. In those with established cardiovascular disease, graded exercise programs can promote the formation of collateral blood vessels as well.

Regular exercise conditions the body so that the effort tolerance, lung and muscle function improve. So does our feeling of wellbeing. Of course, exercise burns out extra calories and reduces body weight, which in turn is due to a decrease in the fat deposits. A decrease in fat deposits can reverse the process of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, if meticulously followed over a long period. Plaque regression can be demonstrated by ultrasound evaluation of the carotids which are easily accessible.

Regular exercise can bring down the blood pressure in the long run. Though blood pressure rises progressively with increasing exercise, it reduces the resting blood pressure in the long run. Lower blood pressures mean lower workload for the heart and lower risk of left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure. Maintaining normal blood pressure also reduces the risk of stroke and myocardial infarction.

High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in the blood increases with regular exercise. HDL is involved in reverse cholesterol transport from the blood vessels to the liver. Higher HDL levels decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. Exercise is the only established way to increase HDL cholesterol. Medications to increase HDL have not been successful till date as they had adverse effects. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is atherogenic, decreases with exercise, again providing protection from cardiovascular disease.