Exercise — Toning up the Endothelium?

Abstract

Physicians generally accept the idea that exercise promotes cardiovascular health, a concept that enjoys considerable support from epidemiologic evidence. In both men¹ and women,² there is an inverse relation between the level of physical activity and the incidence of cardiovascular disease, and this relation persists after control for other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Among patients with established cardiovascular disease, mortality is lower among those who participate in an exercise program than among those who do not.³ These and other data have prompted the inclusion of an exercise program in recommendations for the primary⁴ and secondary⁵ prevention of cardiovascular disease. . . .