Exercise preserves, builds heart muscle

[Guest guest]

Sigh. Ok, so we identify those who need to work out.

This doesn't mean they will.

What's more, that 45 to 60 age group? They're working harder than ever IF they

have jobs right now - and I believe stress has more to do with what happens than

working out or not - at least in the short term. Somebody facing foreclosure or

medical bills wiping them out financially - or trying to put kids through

college? Add on some additional stress, right? Looking for work for over a

couple of months? Well, you have more time to work out, but you're so stressed

out you won't do it then either...

Eustress and distress being additive, they are likely to look at you and say

they will work out, but give up in 1-2 weeks. Nobody gets enough sleep

either..... do the folks who work out 6 times a week in their older years get

more rest?? Are they financially ok so they don't worry the same things like

younger folks do?

We're in a foxhole economy where you get your butt in your seat, and keep your

head down until the fireworks stop and the layoffs end....

I don't think it's that hard to figure out who needs to work out. I think the

bigger problem is compliance, and it always has been. I think a serious

reduction in stress and more sleep consistently would also serve many folks in

delaying or preventing some heart problems as well!

(hey, maybe the US government would be kind enough to fund a nice paid 1 week

vacation for yours truly - in the name of my health for the next 20 years?

<grin> now where's the study to prove that one a good idea and funding....)

The Phantom

aka Schaefer, CMT/RMT, competing powerlifter

Denver, Colorado, USA

Exercise preserves, builds heart muscle

Exercise preserves, builds heart muscle

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By Ransdell Pierson – Sat Apr 2, 7:44 pm ET

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Consistent lifelong exercise preserves heart muscle in

the elderly to levels that match or even exceed that of healthy young sedentary

people, a surprising finding that underscores the value of regular exercise

training, according to a new study.

The first study to evaluate the effects of varying levels of lifelong exercise

on heart mass was presented on Saturday at the annual scientific meeting of the

American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.

It suggested that physical activity preserves the heart's youthful elasticity,

showing that when people were sedentary, the mass of their hearts shrunk with

each passing decade.

By contrast, elderly people with a documented history of exercising six to seven

times a week throughout adulthood not only kept their heart mass, but built upon

it -- having heart masses greater than sedentary healthy adults aged 25 to 34.

" One thing that characterizes the aging process by itself is the loss of muscle

mass, particularly skeletal muscle, " said Dr. Bhella, a researcher from

Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas who presented the study at the

conference.

" But we are showing that this process is not unique to skeletal muscle, it also

happens in cardiac muscle, " he said. " A heart muscle that atrophies is weaker. "

The study enrolled 121 healthy people with no history of heart disease. Fifty

nine were sedentary subjects recruited from the Dallas Heart Study, a large

multiethnic sample of Dallas County residents.

Some 62 lifelong exercisers, all over age 65, were recruited mainly from the

Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, which had documented their exercise habits

over a period of 25 years.

In the new study, exercise was assessed by the number of aerobic exercise

sessions per week, rather than intensity or duration. Subjects were broken down

into four groups: non-exercisers; casual exercisers (two to three times a week);

committed exercisers (four to five times a week) and master athletes (six to

seven times a week).

Heart mass measurements, taken using MRIs, showed that sedentary subjects had

diminished heart mass as they aged, while lifelong exercisers had heart mass

expansion with increasing frequency of exercise.

" The data suggest that if we can identify people in middle age, in the 45 to 60

year range, and get them to exercise four to five times a week, this may go a

very long way in preventing some of the major heart conditions of old age,

including heart failure, " said Levine of the University of Texas

Southwestern Medical Center, who headed the study.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson and Bill Berkrot; Editing by Simao)

Ralph Giarnella MD

Southington Ct. USA

[Guest guest]

Exercise preserves, builds heart muscle

By Ransdell Pierson

NEW ORLEANS | Sat Apr 2, 2011 7:44pm EDT

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Consistent lifelong exercise preserves heart muscle in the elderly to levels that match or even exceed that of healthy young sedentary people, a surprising finding that underscores the value of regular exercise training, according to a new study.

The first study to evaluate the effects of varying levels of lifelong exercise on heart mass was presented on Saturday at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.

It suggested that physical activity preserves the heart's youthful elasticity, showing that when people were sedentary, the mass of their hearts shrunk with each passing decade.

By contrast, elderly people with a documented history of exercising six to seven times a week throughout adulthood not only kept their heart mass, but built upon it -- having heart masses greater than sedentary healthy adults aged 25 to 34.

"One thing that characterizes the aging process by itself is the loss of muscle mass, particularly skeletal muscle," said Dr. Bhella, a researcher from Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas who presented the study at the conference.

"But we are showing that this process is not unique to skeletal muscle, it also happens in cardiac muscle," he said. "A heart muscle that atrophies is weaker."

The study enrolled 121 healthy people with no history of heart disease. Fifty nine were sedentary subjects recruited from the Dallas Heart Study, a large multiethnic sample of Dallas County residents.

Some 62 lifelong exercisers, all over age 65, were recruited mainly from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, which had documented their exercise habits over a period of 25 years.

In the new study, exercise was assessed by the number of aerobic exercise sessions per week, rather than intensity or duration. Subjects were broken down into four groups: non-exercisers; casual exercisers (two to three times a week); committed exercisers (four to five times a week) and master athletes (six to seven times a week).

Heart mass measurements, taken using MRIs, showed that sedentary subjects had diminished heart mass as they aged, while lifelong exercisers had heart mass expansion with increasing frequency of exercise.

"The data suggest that if we can identify people in middle age, in the 45 to 60 year range, and get them to exercise four to five times a week, this may go a very long way in preventing some of the major heart conditions of old age, including heart failure," said Levine of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who headed the study.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson and Bill Berkrot; Editing by Simao)

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