Regular exercise better than 'spurt' sports
September 1, 1998 2 minutes read
Regular exercise better than 'spurt' sports
Researchers have shown that long-term exercise may help fight atherosclerosis, but a recent study suggests that cardiovascular benefits of exercise are more evident in long-term exercisers than in people who are physically active in spurts or for short periods of time.1
Exercise increases the blood and tissue levels of free radicals, highly-reactive oxygen molecules that oxidize low-density lipoprotein (LDL), making it more dangerous to blood vessels. Sampath Parthasarathy, PhD, of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and lead author of the paper, explained that what happens is similar to an immune response to a vaccine. In blood tests of long-term participant exercisers, LDL is protected from oxidation because the body builds up an antioxidant defense. In short-term exercisers, this antioxidant defense is absent, and their LDL is more easily oxidized.
The study suggests, however, that while short-term exercise increases LDL oxidation, it promotes the oxidation of LDL in the blood where the liver can rapidly filter it out, rather than in the blood vessels, where it can lead to atherosclerosis. n
Craig McColl, nurse manager, emergency center, Baptist Hospital, Miami. Telephone: (305) 596-1960. E-mail: [email protected].
Robert Eisner, PhD, co-director, nuclear cardiology, Crawford-Long Hospital, Atlanta. Telephone: (404) 686-7819.
Edward DiBella, PhD, researcher, department of radiology, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City. Telephone: (801) 585-5543.
Karen N. Elder, RN, MSN, coordinator, case management practices, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN; consulting editor, Cost Management in Cardiac Care. Telephone: (615) 322-5000.
Kimberly Bell, RN, CCRN, nurse clinician, coronary care unit and coronary progressive care unit, St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers, Beech Grove, IN. Telephone: (317) 783-8867. n
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