More Exercise Isn't Always Better for Your Heart
High-Volume Physical Activity and Clinical Coronary Artery Disease Outcomes: Findings From the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
People who exercise a moderate amount have the least heart attacks, but those who exercise a lot don’t get fewer heart attacks — even though they live longer. Their hearts may have more calcium buildup, but that doesn’t mean more heart attacks.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
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Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
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Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
People who exercise a moderate amount have the least heart attacks, but those who exercise a lot don’t get fewer heart attacks — even though they live longer. Their hearts may have more calcium buildup, but that doesn’t mean more heart attacks.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 559 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Publication
Authors
Berry JD, Zabad N, Kyrouac D, Leonard D, Barlow CE, Pavlovic A, Shuval K, Levine BD, DeFina LF
Related Content
Claims (9)
High-volume, high-intensity endurance exercise increases coronary artery plaque burden without increasing all-cause or cardiovascular mortality risk in otherwise healthy individuals.
Regular physical activity, regardless of its association with subclinical coronary plaque, is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality.
People who exercise moderately—like jogging or cycling a few hours a week—have the lowest risk of heart attacks, but those who exercise way more than that don’t get any extra protection against heart events.
People who exercise a lot—like marathon runners—live longer than those who don’t, even though they don’t have fewer heart attacks. Exercise helps you live longer, but not necessarily by preventing heart attacks alone.
If you have calcium in your heart arteries, you’re at higher risk for a heart attack—even if you’re a marathon runner. Exercise doesn’t make that calcium harmless.