The Mechanism by which Exercise prevents Heart Attack in the Long Run. I think the CORRECT APPROACH is regular exercise. Exercise is a SPECIAL SITUATION when the heart beats hard n fast, endorphins and adrenaline are increased, arteries expand n become more elastic ... An orchestra of optimal, coordinated microscopic cellular level repair operations. My suspicion is that exercise seems to set up the body (ESPECIALLY THE ARTERIES) and mind towards a reset and recovery mode. During long sedentary periods, cholesterol will accumulate like plaster to (TEMPORARILY) patch holes (damage) in artery walls with the expectation that exercise will come along with the definitive repair/reset button to coordinate and organise all the essential ingredients (waste removal, nutrient supply, hormonal stimulus, cellular repair, smooth muscle stretching and activation, personality and mood improvement etc) towards making the artery wall elastic, smooth and new again (post exercise recovery and rebuilding period). However, if no exercise session comes along, then the temporary measures just have to continue and in extremis (during prolonged sedentary periods and aggravated by smoking, diabetes, stress etc), calcium is added to stabilize the temporary repair cholesterol : unfortunately, these temporary repair methods ultimately will result in a spectacular breakdown at some point if allowed to accumulate indefinitely : it then becomes an unstable plaque which will precipitate a heart attack (myocardial infarction) if disturbed and the 'fibrous cap' allowed to burst and allow the accumulated pool of cholesterol to leak out. Thus the best approach to heart attack / stroke prevention is to keep arteries elastic and supple by healthy lifestyle and regular exercise which is like kneading bread or mozzarella cheese : the more u knead, the more chewy the product is: which is how healthy arteries should be, not stiff, calcified and inflexible aka 'porcelain aorta'. People need to do regular sessions of aerobic exercise to 'reset' the physiology of their arteries so that for life, their arteries will remain supple and young to efficiently supply steady blood pressure to the muscles etc, rather that porcelain / lead pipe aorta which CANNOT MODULATE blood pressure and thus contribute to more arterial damage, cholesterol problems etc etc. The human body is like a nuclear reactor power station: both powerful yet fragile at the same time. Only vz healthy lifestyle and regular exercise will the 'reactor' continue to function without prematurely breaking down. Your aspirin is a good try, but based on my hypothesis / explanation, your approach can best be categorized as 'too little and too late', once u have atherosclerosis /atheromas formed, u r a waiting time bomb and a disaster waiting to happen. And for those who have never exercised before, I guess their health is a train wreck in slow motion. The best that one can do by the time atherosclerosis /atheroma formation has happened is to immediately adopt healthy lifestyle of sufficient rest, stress control, risk factors control (diabetes, hypy, cholesterol, smoking etc) while doing only very gentle exercise like walking to try to disperse(reverse) the cholesterol plaque without too much shear force as to tear open the fibrous cap. Guess if one were sedentary for 20years, then maybe only delicately increase the exercise heart rate intensity by say 1% max/ week at first and stop if just a bit unwell. It may take 10-20years to get back to fitness but at least one would not break open the fibrous cap and die whilst doing so (exercising). [YOUTUBE]Gg4nhfremHo[/YOUTUBE] URL= https://you*tu.be/Gg4nhfremHo (remove the *) Caveat : the exercise must not be excessive and shouldn't result in any joint pains and just to be sure that it isn't excessive, one should feel totally ready to repeat the exercise session by day 3 after the day of exercise. (Doesn't mean must exercise on day3, just that full recovery shouldn't take more than 3 days to be considered 'not excessive exercise'). (Knowledge based on interest and self study).
The Mechanism by which Aerobic Exercise (optimal) prevents Atherosclerosis(heart disease etc). There is some theory that CHOLESTEROL is just a repair raw material reflecting the level of arterial inflammation/ DAMAGE and NOT per se, the PRIMARY, sole cause of arterial damage/ atherosclerosis. Exercise is essential because in OPTIMAL amount, it is able to set the foundation for proper arterial repair. Exercise also reduces % body fat, increases muscle and bone mass, all of which are very important for stress relief and diabetes control. The former because better physical fitness means better work productivity (higher salary), better sleep (less risk of obstructive sleep apnea), less body aches (better blood circulation, better bone strength and muscle quality) and not least, better glucose control because low % body fat means more available space for glucose storage in case blood glucose is high, thus people with low % body fat have the LOWEST risk of diabetes risk of all. For all these reasons not least the physical scrubbing of arteries due to higher cardiac output during higher intensity exercise (aka arterial shear stress) that renews (resets) the artery physiology and structure towards becoming new, supple and rubbery again. Statin is just a pharmaceutical way to decrease the inflammation and cholesterol accumulation in atheroma plague formation however, it is more a 2ndary prevention option just like fire sprinklers to prevent a fire outbreak by extinguishing small fires (which also causes collateral damage like goods getting damaged by becoming water logged)(statin drug prescriptions do have some risk and side effects although these risk may be acceptable for people at significant risk of heart attack), exercise is thus the real GOLD STANDARD of fire prevention by ensuring that there is nothing flammable to begin with. (diet free from inflammation causing trans fats, non-smoking and sufficient sleep is of course essential as well). PS, I emphasize OPTIMAL exercise level because over enthusiastic exercise can cause atherosclerosis instead as some Olympic marathon runners have atherosclerosis as well... This is because they have over exerted themselves in order to win podium prizes or national recognition in a zero sum game because only one competitor can come first and podium places are very limited: such is the atherosclerotic occupational hazard of being an occupational marathon athlete. Original article URL to quote (and for updates): https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...high-cholesterol-5911838-7.html#post116808440
