Are stronger muscles the key to stronger hearts?

The amount of muscle you have now can indicate your heart disease risk later in life, shares a new study published this past month. For men with no previous heart health conditions, entering middle age (45-65) with a healthy amount of muscle can lower heart disease risk by as much as 81%. 

Our bodies have three types of muscles: smooth muscle which supports our internal organs, cardiac muscles which enables heart function, and skeletal muscle which are attached to our bones and enable us to move. During middle age (around 45-65 years old), our bodies begin to lose skeletal muscle mass. This decline in skeletal muscle mass has been linked to different medical conditions including disabilities and poor mental health.

The authors of the study don’t yet know exactly how skeletal muscle mass can protect the heart, but suspect that it is related to how muscles use and store our blood sugar and help regulate important biochemical processes. Learn more here.