Strong Leg Muscles Linked to Lower Risk of Heart Failure After Myocardial Infarction: Study

“If your legs are strong, you risk heart failure after myocardial infarction.”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Han Seong-gan = A study has found that people with strong femoral muscles have a lower risk of heart failure after an acute myocardial infarction.
As a result of a study conducted by Professor Kensuke Ueno of Cardiovascular Medicine at Kitasato University School of Medicine in Japan, 932 patients (average age: 66 years old, 81% male) who were hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction between 2007 and 2020, This fact has been revealed, MedicalXpress reported on the 24th.
6-9% of myocardial infarction patients lead to heart failure.
Previous studies have shown that people with coronary artery disease who have strong quadriceps have a lower risk of death.
The research team conducted this study under the assumption that patients with acute myocardial infarction would have a lower risk of heart failure if their legs were strong.
The study subjects did not have heart failure before myocardial infarction and did not show heart failure while receiving hospitalization for myocardial infarction.
The research team measured muscle strength in the quadriceps muscle, which represents the strength of their legs.
Sitting on a chair, the quadriceps muscle was maximally contracted for 5 seconds, and muscle strength was measured with a portable dynamometer attached to the ankle.
The research team followed them for an average of 4.5 years.
Meanwhile, 67 patients (7.2%) had heart failure. The number of people with strong quadriceps muscles was 10.2 per 1,000 person-years, and the number of people with weak quadriceps was 22.9 per 1,000 person-years.
Considering the risk factors for heart failure after myocardial infarction, such as age, gender, body mass index, angina pectoris, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), peripheral arterial disease, and renal failure, people with strong thigh muscles had a higher incidence of heart failure than people with weak muscles. was found to be 41% lower.
The research team explained that quadriceps muscle strength can be accurately measured in an easy and simple way.
Although the results of this study need to be confirmed through additional research, the research team said that quadriceps strengthening training is recommended for people who have suffered myocardial infarction to prevent heart failure.
The results of this study were presented at the Heart Failure 2023 conference of the European Society of cardiology (ESC) held in Prague, Czech Republic.
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