A new study has found that people with healthier upper-body muscles may have a significantly lower risk of suffering a heart attack or dying, highlighting yet another reason to stay physically active.
The findings, published in the journal Radiology, are based on data from 1,722 patients who took part in the Scottish Computed Tomography of the Heart trial. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse CT heart scans taken from patients experiencing chest pain between 2010 and 2014.
The participants, whose average age was 58, were followed for 10 years. During that period, 133 people died, while 106 experienced either a fatal or non-fatal heart attack.
Researchers discovered that individuals with better skeletal muscle quality, measured using a CT scan marker known as skeletal muscle attenuation, were significantly less likely to experience serious cardiovascular events. Lower muscle quality, often caused by greater fat infiltration within the muscles, was associated with a higher risk.
The muscles examined in the scans included the back muscles, chest muscles and the muscles located between the ribs.
The study found that every 10-point improvement in muscle density was linked to a 31% lower risk of suffering a heart attack and a 39% lower risk of death over the following decade.
Interestingly, muscle size itself was not associated with better health outcomes. Instead, researchers said muscle quality and composition appeared to be far more important than simply having larger muscles.
The findings remained consistent even after accounting for other cardiovascular risk factors, including age, sex and calcium build-up in the arteries. Researchers also found that fat stored in the torso and liver was not significantly linked to heart attack risk.
Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said the findings reinforce the importance of regular physical activity.
“It is likely that people in this study with more dense muscle mass were more physically active and as a result had better heart health. This is yet more evidence supporting the power of exercise,” he said.
Williams added that every movement benefits the muscles, blood vessels and overall health, noting that regular exercise can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to one-third.
Senior author Professor Michelle Williams said the results were encouraging and suggested that improving muscle quality through activities such as cycling, Pilates and core-strengthening exercises could potentially benefit heart health, although more research is needed to confirm the link.
The AI technology used in the study also dramatically reduced the time needed to assess muscle quality, completing the analysis in minutes instead of the hours typically required by radiologists.
Researchers believe the technology could eventually allow routine heart scans to identify people at higher risk of heart attacks, enabling earlier treatment and lifestyle interventions such as increased exercise or preventive medications including statins.
However, they stressed that further studies are needed before the approach can be adopted in routine clinical practice.
The findings come as cardiovascular disease remains one of the world’s leading causes of death, with health experts continuing to emphasise regular exercise, a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight as key steps in reducing long-term heart disease risk.
