Running is good for your heart’s health. Learn how running and your heart work together to improve your overall health.
Running is a great way to get healthy and stay healthy throughout your life. This is because regular aerobic exercise gets the heart pumping, increasing its longevity and capacity over time.
Dr. Raul Mitrani, a cardiologist at the University of Miami, says that running lowers blood pressure and heart rate. He also says it can improve metabolism, delay diabetes, support weight loss, and prolong lifespan.
The Research
A study published in Circulation compared 152 athletes and 92 sedentary people with a low risk of coronary artery disease. The athletes showed signs of calcified plaques, while the sedentary group had a mixed plaque composition.
The study concluded that even though coronary plaques were more apparent in athletes, they had a lower risk of heart attacks. This is because they had harder plaques, which don’t break as easily as those in sedentary people.
In the long-term, running changes the vascular system: it increases heart size, decreases heartbeat rate, and widens the arteries. While running frequently may harden your arteries, it’s better than the fatty plaques that sedentary people have, which clog the arteries.
Benefits of Running
Running regularly can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It also helps reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad kind of cholesterol) and increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind). Consistent physical activity regulates blood pressure over time and also improves vasodilation.
In addition, running helps with weight management, which is important because people who are overweight have a higher risk of heart disease. While running and walking have similar benefits, running will help you lose weight at a faster rate.
Consistent running is also great for strengthening your heart muscle. Just like doing pushups makes your shoulders and biceps stronger, running strengthens your heart.
Moreover, running makes it easier for your heart to work without overexerting itself. Since runners have stronger hearts, they tend to have a lower resting pulse rate and a greater intake of oxygen. As a result, their hearts can handle pumping a larger amount of blood per beat, which helps the heart do its job.
Furthermore, running reduces your risk for heart disease by 35% to 55%. Running prevents blood clot formation in the arteries and blood vessels and also supports better blood flow, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
The Outlook
Running is a great heart-healthy activity for most people, and requires no equipment. If running is too difficult for you, doctors recommend milder aerobic exercises like walking and swimming.
Something else you can do for your heart health is to take supplements like L-arginine Plus. It works to expand your blood vessels, which can help improve your circulation and promote a healthier heart.
Try L-arginine Plus along with running or milder aerobic exercises if you’re looking to boost your overall health.