Can Exercise Help Mend An Aging Heart?

By CarePatrol

Research has found that it is never too late to help make a senior’s heart stronger and helping to lead a healthier life. Research shows beginning a regular exercise routine can make your heart more youthful. Even exercising as little as four times a week can remodel your heart into a much healthier state.

It has been said that the hardening of the arteries affects many of us by the late 50s. Hardening of the arteries increases blood pressure and makes it harder for our heart to work efficiently, resulting in heart failure or COPD.

However, not all medical professors agree. Dr. Benjamin Levine, director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine in Dallas, a cardiologist, and professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, investigated seniors who claimed to exercise regularly.

Dr. Levine studied many seniors who reported that they were sedentary throughout their adulthood and compared them to other seniors who exercised for at least 30 minutes two or three times a week, seniors who claimed to work out four to five times per week, and seniors who were considered themselves athletes because they exercised almost every day of the week.

The results of the study were amazing.  He found that seniors who exercised three to four times a week showed the hearts of person decades younger.  Those who exercised almost every day showed the least amount of heart changes.

The results of his studies were very clear. They suggest that our hearts have the capability to retain their elasticity for many years of our life.  This seems to only be true if seniors maintain regular exercise.  He suggests that seniors who make exercise a regular part of their day, much like brushing their teeth or getting dressed in the morning, have “younger hearts” and possibly live healthier lives. Keeping seniors healthy begins with regular exercise.