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Physical activity can, ironically, speed up your risk of a heart attack, suggests a new study.
This is because physical activity can lead to a faster buildup of plaque or calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, according to research.
This finding does not outweigh the many health benefits of exercise, the researchers point out.
Regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of obesity, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and death. But new research shows that despite these important benefits, very physically active people seem to have high levels of calcium deposits in their coronary arteries.
However, it’s not clear whether exercise itself can be associated with calcification or hardening of the arteries, according to the study published in Heart journal.
To investigate the matter further, the researchers studied healthy adults presenting for exams in South Korea over a six-year period.
Those who were more physically active tended to be older and less likely to smoke than less physically active participants. They also had lower total cholesterol, higher blood pressure, and existing evidence of calcium deposits in their coronary arteries.
An association between the level of physical activity and the prevalence and progression of coronary artery calcification has appeared over time. Higher physical activity was associated with faster progression of calcification scores.
Experts said the new study could mean that exercise increases the risk of a heart attack, or that calcium build-up is not a good measure of heart attack risk.
“Difficult to interpret”
Dr Angie Brown, medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation, said that while the benefits of moderate and regular physical activity were “indisputable,” the study suggested there was a faster progression of coronary calcium. in active people.
“It may represent stabilization and healing of the plaque, or be secondary to other physical and environmental factors; there was no information on cardiovascular events in these apparently young and healthy individuals. This makes the results difficult to interpret from a practical point of view.
The results suggest that overreliance on calcium scores and imaging alone may not be the best way to assess cardiovascular risk, said consulting cardiologist Dr Brown.
A linked editorial in the Heart journal questions whether doctors should stop using coronary artery calcium scores to assess heart disease. Clinicians should be careful not to “abuse” this test on otherwise healthy patients, he says. Additional reports: PA
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