fbpx

Research shows that middle-aged men could substantially reduce their risk of heart disease by keeping their muscles fit. Learn how to stay healthy and fit as you age.

According to a new study focusing on muscle mass and cardiovascular disease, having plenty of muscle now can be really beneficial later in life.

Men who are entering middle age and have a good amount of muscle mass may decrease their risk of heart disease by as much as 81 percent.

These studies show the importance of building and maintaining muscle for your overall health, especially in men.

How Muscle Benefits Our Health

Maintaining healthy muscles is essential for our bodies to function properly.

Skeletal muscles give us the strength to do simple tasks such as grasping, reaching, and lifting.

Muscles also aid our metabolic health as they help store blood sugar and produce specialized hormones like brain and fat cells that jump-start multiple biochemical processes.

However, as we age, we naturally begin to lose muscle mass (usually around our 30s and 40s).

When people experience severe muscle loss (sarcopenia), they can fall prey to frailty and other common conditions among the elderly.

Even those who only experience moderate muscle loss can experience adverse effects, which may lead to cardiovascular disease.

The ATTICA Study

Muscles FitPublished in the 2019 Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, this new study focuses on muscle health and sarcopenia.

It tracks participants’ muscle and heart health as they enter middle age.

The researchers first looked at the data from the ongoing ATTICA study in Greece.

This is a large-scale study involving thousands of Mediterranean men and women.

The ATTICA study focuses on the underpinnings of cardiovascular disease.

The participants’ age ranges from early adulthood to retirement age, and none had cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study.

As part of this study, all participants underwent a second round of cardiovascular health tests ten years after joining the study.

The new study focused on participants of the ATTICA study who were at least 45 years old at the time of their second round of testing.

The New Study

By focusing on the participants who were 45+ years old, the authors of the new study wound up with a total of 1,019 people – most being 55 and older.

The researchers studied their overall muscle mass and any developments of heart disease.

They found that participants who had the most muscle mass were the least likely to have heart disease.

The correlation between muscle mass and heart disease remained significant with diet, education, and physical activity.

However, when it came to gender, women’s muscle mass did not significantly associate with a lower risk of heart disease.

This was mainly due to the few women in the study who developed heart disease since women tend to develop heart disease about ten years later than men.

Muscle, Men, and Heart Disease

The study did show that there is a relationship between lower risk of heart disease for men in middle age and muscle mass.

However, it’s important to note that while there is a strong relation, it does not necessarily mean that muscle will directly lower your risk of heart disease.

For example, those who are fit are generally physically active, which also helps protect the heart.

Another way to protect the heart is to improve circulation and lower cholesterol to maintain healthy blood pressure levels.

Fortunately, HeartBeet Complete helps people looking to improve their heart health.

This great-tasting formula promotes healthy blood pressure levels and circulation safely and efficiently.

Stay fit and stay healthy by improving your blood circulation and heart health with HeartBeet Complete.