The Surprising Way Upper Body Strength Can Predict Your Heart Attack Risk

Eating a balanced (largely Mediterranean) diet, steering clear of stress, and quitting smoking are just some of the ways to help reduce your heart attack risk.

Exercise also has a huge bearing. Studies have consistently found physical activity has a protective effect against heart disease, which can lead to heart attacks. 

Adding to this body of evidence, researchers recently looked at the routine heart scans of 1,722 people, mostly in their fifties, who’d experienced chest pain.

Using artificial intelligence to analyse the scans, they found people with greater muscle density in their chest and back were less likely to have a heart attack or die in the decade after having the scan. 

One of the study’s senior authors, Professor Michelle Williams, from the Centre for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh, said the findings have inspired her to go to the gym twice a week (where possible) and walk for an hour a day.

“It is fascinating that people’s skeletal muscle could be linked to their risk of having a heart attack. The muscles which show up in the scans we used … are principally the back muscles, part of the pectoral muscles (or ‘pecs’) and the intercostal muscles between the ribs,” she said. 

“So I am now personally interested in exercises like cycling, planks and pilates, which I enjoy and may have an effect on these muscles. However we need far more research to better understand how exercise may affect muscle density, and how this may relate to heart health.”

The reduction in heart attack risk was witnessed even after taking into account other factors which may increase a person’s risk of heart attack and death, such as age, sex and the amount of calcium build-up up in their arteries. 

Researchers said it’s likely that people who exercise enough to have strong muscles in their upper body have a healthy lifestyle which protects their heart in other ways.

What type of exercise should I prioritise for heart health?

The researchers said all kinds of exercise, not just strength-training, can improve muscle density.

The size of people’s muscles was not linked to their risk of a heart attack or early death, which suggests it is the composition of the muscle which matters. 

Cardiac rehab physiotherapist Helen Alexander previously told the British Heart Foundation (BHF) that three types of exercise can help strengthen heart health.

These are:

1. Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, cycling and swimming,

2. Resistance and strength training, such as lifting weights, using resistance bands, doing squats and press-ups,

3. Exercise that improves balance and flexibility, such as tai chi and yoga.

Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the BHF, which helped fund the study, said the findings provide “yet more evidence supporting the power of exercise”.

“Every time we move, we are making a positive difference to our muscles, our blood vessels and our overall health, and regular exercise can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to a third,” he said.