Kathmandu, January 17

Recent findings suggested that training for and running a marathon could be an excellent choice for people looking to improve their cardiovascular health.

Medical New Today reported that a total of 138 people running in the 2016 and 2017 London Marathons participated in the study, which appears in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Just over half of the participants were female, with the average age of the group being 37 years.

None of the participants had completed a marathon before, and none had any significant medical history or preexisting heart disease.

As per the study, the researchers advised each of the runners to follow the marathon's Beginner's Training Plan, which consists of about three runs every week for 17 weeks leading up to the race. And as the weeks went on, the weekly exercise became more intense.

The researchers measured participants' blood pressure and aortic stiffness using cardiovascular magnetic resonance before starting the marathon training.

Then the researchers calculated the biological age of each individual's aorta using their actual age and the aortic stiffness measurements from three levels of the artery. They then took the same measurements between 1 and 3 weeks after the marathon.

As per the Medical New Today, the researchers found that both blood pressure and aortic stiffness had reduced in the first-time marathon runners. Notably, the changes in aortic stiffness were equivalent to a 4 year decrease in vascular age.

On top of that, older male runners who were slower and had a higher baseline blood pressure gained the most from the training regimen and race.

Hamro Doctor