Researchers in London found even low key marathon training reduced “vascular age” by four years.
by Amby Burfoot
A new study of first-time London Marathon runners found that their basic training program produced important health benefits. After four months, the runners had lower blood pressure and greater flexibility in their cardiac arteries.
The researchers judged the subjects to have erased four years from their “vascular age.” That’s not the same as saying they would live four years longer, but it’s a nice nudge in that direction.
The study, “Training for a First-Time Marathon Reverses Age-Related Aortic Stiffening,” was published yesterday by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The researchers came from several academic and medical institutions in London. “Our study shows it is possible to reverse the consequences of aging in the blood vessels with real-world exercise in just six months,” said senior author Charlotte Manisty, from University College London.
Vascular stiffness is the normal hardening of the arteries that progresses with age. It is often accelerated in those with poor diets, low fitness, and obesity. It was once though irreversible, explains Philadelphia cardiologist Julio A. Chirinos, in an accompanying editorial, “The Run Against Arterial Aging.”
Turning Back Arterial Stiffening
However, emerging research, such as the new paper, is finding that aerobic exercise training can in fact turn back artery stiffening. No known pharmacological approaches have the same effect.
The London researchers investigated 138 London Marathon participants who were heart-healthy and had never run a marathon. They had an average age of 37, and 51 percent were female. They underwent physiological tests and cardiac MRIs six months before the marathon and two weeks after.
During that time, the runners’ systolic and diastolic blood pressure dropped an average of three or four points, and their cardiac flexibility increased nine to 16 percent, on average, in key heart arteries. They also had slightly lower body weights, body fat percents, resting heart rates, and increased vo2 max measures. Importantly, the research team concluded: “Greater rejuvenation was observed in older, slower individuals.”
The men subjects finished London in an average time of 4:30 and the women in an average time of 5:24. These marks were approximately 30 minutes slower than the overall average finish times at London.
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