Moderate-to-intense exercise such as bicycling might prevent tissue death in the brain resulting from a silent stroke. (Image: diego cervo/iStockphoto.com)
Researchers report in today’s Neurology that higher intensity exercise—tennis, swimming, jogging, or racquetball, for example—helps to reduce the risk of silent strokes, which are linked with an increased likelihood of falls, memory problems, dementia, and the risk of a subsequent major stroke. In a silent stroke, also called an infarction, a small region of brain tissue dies but there are no outward symptoms.
The study, by researchers at Columbia University in New York City and the University of Miami in Florida, included 1238 adults who had never had a stroke. They completed questionnaires about their physical activity levels at the beginning of the study. Six years later, as part of a substudy, they had brain scans when they were aged 61 to 79 years.
About 21% of study participants reported regular moderate or intense exercise, 36% said they engaged in regular light exercise including walking or golf, and 43% said they did not exercise regularly.
Overall, the brain scans showed that 16% of the participants had at least 1 infarction. Those in the highest level of physical activity measured were 40% less likely to have infarctions than those who engaged in light or no exercise. The results held up when researchers considered other factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and smoking.
Lead author Joshua Willey, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center, said adults with arthritis or other physically limiting conditions can choose water-based exercise to prevent stress on the joints.
“The more exercise frequency, duration, and intensity, the more likely [patients] are to gain protection against stroke,” he said. “But any form of physical activity is still protective against multiple health conditions, and our findings should not discourage patients from [light exercise].”
