Two hours of strength training a week could lower heart attack risk in women

Women who include strength or resistance training in their weekly exercise routine may lower their risk of cardiovascular disease, especially heart attack, according to a large US study published in JACC.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women worldwide, accounting for more than 30 per cent of all deaths.

Researchers followed around one lakh two thousand women for nearly 15 years, during which 5,459 experienced a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, stroke or another serious heart condition.

Every four years, participants reported how much resistance training and other physical activity they did, as well as how much time they spent watching television, a measure of sedentary behaviour.

Women who did at least two hours of resistance training each week had a 20 per cent lower risk of major cardiovascular disease and a 44 per cent lower risk of heart attack compared with women who did no resistance training.

Every additional hour of weekly strength training was linked to a 5 per cent lower risk of major cardiovascular disease and a 14 per cent lower risk of heart attack. However, resistance training alone was not associated with a lower risk of stroke.

The greatest benefits were seen when strength training was combined with regular aerobic exercise. Women who completed at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity each week, along with two or more hours of resistance training, had a 45 per cent lower risk of heart attack than women who were inactive.

Women who combined regular strength training with aerobic exercise and spent less time watching TV had the lowest overall risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

“These findings suggest that, within an already active population, resistance training is associated with additional reductions in cardiovascular disease risk above and beyond overall aerobic activity,” the lead researcher said.