Why a Strong Chest and Back May Mean a Healthier Heart

Tired of cardio? Your heart might appreciate upper body training just as much.

If you love upper body training day, then you might inadvertently love training your heart. Typically, cardio is primarily associated with improved heart health, but increasing the muscle strength in your chest and back might be your ticket to a healthier heart. That’s not to say that you should avoid doing cardio, but that higher levels of muscular fitness, particularly in the chest and back, could counteract adverse cardiovascular issues.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh (UoE) used machine learning for multiorgan analysis on 1,722 patients and found that those with more muscle density in their torsos (i.e., chest and back) had lower all-cause mortality. A lower risk of heart attack was specifically associated with those with higher skeletal muscle attenuation — a marker of denser, higher-quality muscle — in their torsos. In other words, the participants with the highest muscle density at the time of their scan were shown to be at the lowest risk of a heart attack in the decade that followed.

What You Should Know About Strength and Heart Risk

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly one of every three deaths. Muscle strength has an inverse association with cardiovascular disease, meaning those with more muscle strength have less risk of cardiovascular complications.

Muscular strength has an independent protective effect on all-cause mortality. Being overweight or obese is critically correlated to cardiovascular disease, but, to an extent, those with improved muscular fitness could be at lower risk of heart attack.

Of course, hopping on the treadmill can improve your cardiovascular fitness, and is likely beneficial for most training programs. Cardio, however, is not the end-all-be-all for heart health. Resistance training also has significant positive effects on cardiovascular disease and its related risk factors. 

Combining aerobic and resistance training has been shown to improve blood pressure, lipid profile, and the plasticity of your cardiovascular system. Combining both modalities appears to go further still — research suggests that pairing aerobic and resistance training is tied to the largest reductions in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, more than either one alone.

Going Deeper on the Evidence

Sports Medicine considers the evidence for exercise as a preventative measure against coronary artery disease “overwhelming.” Exercise is considered “dose-dependent” for positive cardiovascular health outcomes. People who exercise more consistently and in higher volumes can achieve greater benefits. 

If you are out of shape, you may be at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, but you should believe in your potential, since you’re in the best position to reap the most from consistent training. Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine have found that unfit people see the largest relative health gains from exercise. Notably, muscle density (i.e., quality) matters for the positive association with heart health, not muscle size. Higher density reflects less fat within muscle tissue. 

A Metabolism study found muscle density was inversely associated with mortality. The highest quartile of muscle density among 946 male and 955 female participants, with average ages of 61.5 and 62.5, was associated with 73% and 57% reductions in mortality, respectively. While higher muscle density is clearly associated with improved cardiovascular health outcomes, no large-scale, human-controlled trial has established a causal relationship.

The Takeaway

Increasing your muscle density through consistent resistance training can improve your heart health and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. Research suggests aiming for 150 minutes of moderate (or 75 minutes of vigorous) exercise per week, plus muscle-strengthening work on at least two days, but always consult your physician before starting a new training routine.

Bottom Line

To lower your future risk of heart disease, hit the gym. There is plenty of evidence suggesting more quality muscle could significantly lower your future potential for death by heart attack. Proper resistance training requires safe execution.  If you’re unsure how to program a routine, seek guidance from a fitness professional.