heart attack: This five-minute workout plan is what you need to protect yourself from heart attacks

Working in just five minutes can now reduce the risk of heart attack. Research has found an innovative five-minute workout not only effective in terms of time, but also reducing the risk of heart attack, thinking more clearly and improving your athletic performance.

Preliminary results from a clinical trial on inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST) were presented at the conference on experimental biology.

"IMST is essentially a strength training for the muscles you breathe with," said Daniel Craighead, lead author of the study.

Developed in the 1980s in order to wean the critically ill fans, the IMST involves vigorous breathing with the aid of a hand-held device, a trainer of inspiratory muscles, which provides resistance. Imagine sucking hard through a straw that sucks back.

"It's something you can do quickly at home or in the office, without having to change clothes, and so far, it seems very beneficial to lower blood pressure and possibly improve cognitive and physical performance" , did he declare.

At the beginning of their use in patients with lung diseases, patients administered a low-resistance 30-minute regimen daily to boost their lung capacity.

But in 2016, researchers at the University of Arizona released the results of a clinical trial to determine if 30 inhalations a day with increased resistance could help sufferers to get better. obstructive sleep apnea, which tend to have weak respiratory muscles.

In addition to more restorative sleep, subjects experienced an unexpected side effect after six weeks: their systolic blood pressure dropped by 12 millimeters of mercury. It's about two times less than aerobic exercise can report and more than many medications.

"It was at that time that we became interested," said Professor Doug Seals, lead investigator.

Systolic blood pressure, which is the pressure on your blood vessels when your heart beats, increases gradually as the arteries become stiff with age, resulting in blood-hungry tissue damage and increased risk of blood loss. heart attack, cognitive decline and kidney damage.

Although it is clearly established that 30 minutes per day of aerobic exercise lowers blood pressure, only about 5% of adults reach this minimum. Meanwhile, 65% of middle-aged adults have high systolic blood pressure.

"Our goal is to develop effective, evidence-based, effective interventions that these busy, mid-life adults will have," said Seals.

Preliminary results showed that with about half of the tests performed, the researchers found significant decreases in blood pressure and improved large artery function in those who performed IMST unchanged in those who used a dummy breathing device with low resistance.

The IMST group also performs better on some cognitive and memory tests.

When asked to exercise until exhaustion, they could also stay longer on the treadmill and keep their heart rate and oxygen consumption lower. during the exercise.

Some cyclists and runners have already started using commercially available inspiratory muscle trainers to gain competitive advantage.

But Seals and Craighead emphasize that their findings are preliminary and that curious people should ask their doctor before considering IMST.

That said, with a high compliance rate (less than 10% of study participants drop out) and no side effects, they are optimistic.

"High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in America," said Craighead. "Having another option in the toolbox to help prevent this would be a real win."