Key Points
- Exercise of all types reduces blood pressure.
- While results from studies are equivocal, exercise (especially resistance exercise) is likely to improve blood lipids and underlying cardio-metabolic health.
The effects of exercise of all types on blood pressure are well known. Surprisingly and despite clear plausibility, the effects of exercise on blood lipids is less clear.1 It is likely that diet and other lifestyle factors are important for overall health and by proxy, the modulation of blood lipids.
- In patients with atrial fibrillation, exercise results in improved exercise capacity, cardiac function, reduces symptoms and improves health-related quality of life.2
- In patients with acute coronary syndrome, exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation improves physical function and performance, general health, and social functioning.3
- In patients with heart failure, there is a moderate effect of exercise on physical function and health-related quality of life.4, 5
The microvascular system of the eye provides a proxy for overall cardiovascular health. In children, those who exercise more have improved retinal microvascular health,6 indicating the benefits of exercise to the wider circulatory system and to the health of the eye itself.
https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021915020305360-fx1.jpg 6
However, there are some equivocal results. For example, a 2015 review of the effects of diet, exercise, or bariatric surgery for reducing epicardial fat (fat around the heart), showed significant effects for both surgery and diet but not for exercise.7 Resistance exercise may be more effective than aerobic exercise when compared head-to-head. It induces improvements in cardio metabolic health outcomes in healthy adults and those with an adverse cardiometabolic risk profile.8
References
1. Santos LP, Umpierre D. Exercise, Cardiovascular Health, and Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis: A Narrative Review on These Complex Relationships and Caveats of Literature. Frontiers in physiology. 2020;11:840-.
2. Smart NA, King N, Lambert JD, Pearson MJ, Campbell JL, Risom SS, et al. Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation improves exercise capacity and health-related quality of life in people with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised and non-randomised trials. Open Heart. 2018;5(2):e000880.
3. Candelaria D, Randall S, Ladak L, Gallagher R. Health-related quality of life and exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation in contemporary acute coronary syndrome patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Quality of Life Research. 2020;29(3):579-92.
4. Floegel TA, Perez GA. An integrative review of physical activity/exercise intervention effects on function and health-related quality of life in older adults with heart failure. Geriatric Nursing. 2016;37(5):340-7.
5. Gomes-Neto M, Durães AR, Conceição LSR, Roever L, Liu T, Tse G, et al. Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Peak Oxygen Consumption, VE/VCO2 Slope, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Current Atherosclerosis Reports. 2019;21(11):45.
6. Streese L, Guerini C, Bühlmayer L, Lona G, Hauser C, Bade S, et al. Physical activity and exercise improve retinal microvascular health as a biomarker of cardiovascular risk: A systematic review. Atherosclerosis. 2020;315:33-42.
7. Rabkin SW, Campbell H. Comparison of reducing epicardial fat by exercise, diet or bariatric surgery weight loss strategies: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews. 2015;16(5):406-15.
8. Ashton RE, Tew GA, Aning JJ, Gilbert SE, Lewis L, Saxton JM. Effects of short-term, medium-term and long-term resistance exercise training on cardiometabolic health outcomes in adults: systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2020;54(6):341-8.
