According to a study by Japanese researchers, the results of which were published on the website of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), patients who have had a heart attack but have strong legs have a lower risk of developing heart failure.
In the study conducted by Japan’s Sagamihara University School of Medicine, 932 people who had a heart attack for the first time and had no previous heart disease between 2007 and 2020 were examined.
In the study, in which leg strength was measured with the “quadriceps” muscle group test of patients who were hospitalized after a heart attack, it was found that 481 of the patients had strong muscles, while 451 were weak. It was determined that 67 of the patients had average muscle strength.
In patients who were followed for 4.5 years after the heart attack, the rate of heart failure was measured as 10.2 per thousand in those with strong leg muscles and 22.9 per thousand in those with weak muscles.
The study also examined the relationship between strengthening leg muscles and heart failure.
As a result, it was determined that 5 percent development in leg muscles reduced the risk of heart failure by 11 percent.
Researcher Kensuke Ueno from the Department of Physiotherapy at Sagamihara University School of Medicine said in a statement that the study was effective in identifying patients at high risk of developing heart failure after a heart attack.
Ueno said that it is easy to measure leg muscle strength accurately in a clinical setting and that this can also help in applying treatment to prevent the development of heart failure in patients who have had a heart attack.