Strong chest and back muscles may boost heart health

People with strong chest and back muscles are less likely to have a heart attack or die prematurely, analysis using AI suggests.

- Andrew Gregory

Researchers used artificial intelligence to examine hospital scans of 1,722 patients, aged mostly in their 50s, who had chest pain.

Those with greater muscle density in their chests and backs were less likely to have a heart attack or die in the decade after the scan, the study found.

The researchers suspect people with this type of ‘good-quality’ skeletal muscle are those who exercise more and have greater strength in their torsos.

The findings, published in the journal Radiology, suggest this could help reduce the risk of having a heart attack or dying early.

Prof Michelle Williams, the senior author of the study, found the analysis so compelling that she started going to the gym twice a week and walking for an hour a day.