
Exercise the best way to pep up arteries
To keep your arteries healthy, a regular exercise programme is essential, reports the June issue of the Harvard Men’s Health Watch.
Arterial diseases are responsible for heart attacks and strokes, the first and third leading causes of death in American men.
The culprit is atherosclerosis, in which cholesterol-laden plaques build up in the arteries. As the plaques enlarge, the arteries narrow, impairing blood flow.
If a plaque ruptures, a blood clot forms that can block the artery completely, killing the cells that depend on that artery’s blood supply. If this happens in an artery leading to the heart or brain, the result is a heart attack or stroke.
Exercise helps prevent atherosclerosis in a number of ways. It keeps arteries healthy by lowering bad cholesterol and boosting good cholesterol. And it reduces other risk factors for atherosclerosis and blood clots, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and stress.
Regular exercise also helps arteries by boosting the production of nitric oxide by the cells lining the arteries, which helps circulation.
And new research in mice suggests that exercise stimulates the bone marrow to produce new cells for the arterial lining, which replace aging cells and repair damaged arteries.
Even in healthy people who are free of atherosclerosis, age takes its toll on arteries.
As you age, arteries become stiffer, stickier, and narrower. But scientists in Italy found that in people who exercised regularly, age had a much smaller effect on arteries.
“You don’t have to be a triathlete to help your arteries stay young. Just two to three miles of brisk walking nearly every day will help,” says Dr. Harvey Simon, editor in chief of the Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

Shiv Sena, allies win 58% of gram panchayat seats: All you need to know

FIR against 'Tandav' makers for allegedly showing UP Police in bad light

Gorakhpur woman says was not kidnapped, forced to convert

Woman Maoist carrying ₹8 lakh bounty arrested in Chhattisgarh

Public bike-sharing cheapest mode for last-mile connectivity in Mumbai: Survey

Indian Army organises 5-day recruitment drive for women in Lucknow

India’s daily Covid-19 cases drop to 10,064, recoveries surpass 10.22 million

Kashmir: Wet spell later this week could end cold wave, says IMD

MP high court rejects bail of man arrested for sharing Yogi’s morphed picture

Covid-19 vaccines: Fact sheets warn against use in immuno-compromised

'Saddened by Dr V Shanta's demise': PM Modi pays tribute to senior oncologist

Magh mela: Organisers of dance fined for obscenity

UP govt lifts ban on import of poultry from other states

Cancer Institute founder V Shanta passes away in Chennai
