Bone, Skin, & Muscle Health

Strengthening Muscle to Benefit Cardiometabolic Health

Practitioner
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Written on: December 18, 2024
A woman stretching to strengthen muscle and increase cardiometabolic health.

Engaging in regular physical activity benefits cardiovascular as well as metabolic health and may help reduce risks of developing cardiometabolic-related chronic disease through the improvement of health parameters such as blood pressure, waist circumference, and body composition.1,2 What about building muscle through exercise and preserving healthy muscle tissue throughout the lifespan? How does muscle health impact cardiometabolic health, and what lifestyle-based approaches benefit muscle quality and preservation?

Muscle: An Endocrine Organ Linked to Cardiometabolic Health

Beyond the primary mechanical functions of producing movement, sustaining posture, and stabilizing joints, skeletal muscle is also an important metabolic and endocrine organ. This organ helps maintain body temperature, stores nutrients, and plays an important role in many other physiological functions, from immunoregulation and mitochondrial function to oxidative stress, inflammation, and arterial stiffness.3-5 In addition, skeletal muscle also has other metabolic functions such as protein, lipid, and glucose metabolism, including insulin-stimulated glucose disposal.6,7

While developing research continues to investigate the specific mechanisms involved, observational studies suggest that strengthening the body’s skeletal muscle positively impacts the body’s cardiovascular as well as metabolic health.8,9 Specifically, strength-building exercise such as resistance training has been shown to improve cardiometabolic health while also building muscle.10,11 A 2020 observational study of middle-aged and older adults without pre-existing cardiovascular disease (CVD) found that after a 10-year follow-up, not only was there a significant inverse association between baseline skeletal muscle mass and CVD incidence (HR: 0.06) after adjusting for various confounders, but those participants with the highest baseline skeletal muscle mass had an 81% lower risk of CVD compared to those with the lowest baseline skeletal muscle mass.12 In addition, a 2024 cross-sectional study of middle-aged and older adults both with and without CVD found a significant inverse association between CVD and relative muscle strength, determined by maximum grip strength.9 The researchers concluded that relative muscle strength measurements may be one helpful indicator in the early identification and prevention of CVD for some patients.9

SARCOPENIA & CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Loss of muscle mass due to aging or any underlying health condition has been linked not only to chronic diseases such as CVD but also to multimorbidity13 and an increased risk of all-cause mortality in the general adult population.14 Sarcopenia is a muscle-wasting condition that is described as a progressive decline of muscle mass with loss of strength or physical performance and has been bidirectionally linked to cardiovascular disease.15 Reduced cardiac function affects optimal muscle tissue function, and muscle wasting may lead to states of chronic inflammation and increased adiposity that may increase the risk of cardiovascular events.15,16

Recommended therapeutic approaches for patients with sarcopenia include appropriate exercise interventions that help to attenuate muscle loss and rebuild muscle mass.17,18 If aligned with a patient’s personalized therapeutic strategy, studies suggest that nutritional treatment components such as increased quality proteins and supplementations that include vitamin D19,20 or omega-3 fatty acids21 may also enhance muscle strength and mass for patients with sarcopenia. 

Lifestyle Considerations: The Functional Medicine Approach

As described above, optimal cardiometabolic functioning is supported by healthy skeletal muscle. Loss of muscle tissue and reduced muscle strength may not only impact cardiovascular and metabolic health but may also be reflective of overall health.22-24 Within the functional medicine model, lifestyle-based treatments that address current clinical conditions or proactively address healthy aging may be part of a patient’s personalized therapeutic strategy. 

Specific to enhancing muscle quality and preserving healthy muscle tissue across the lifespan, exercise and nutrition are key components that may be appropriate for an individual patient.18,19,25-27 Muscle undergoes various changes during aging, and age-related degradation of muscle mass is a continuous process, with some studies suggesting a reduction in lean muscle starting as early as age 30.28 Collaborating with patients to understand health goals, exercise preferences, and potential behavior-change obstacles is vital when developing sustainable lifestyle interventions that may include muscle-strengthening exercise prescriptions and strategies to reduce sedentary time. 

Concurrent with exercise, appropriate protein intake to benefit muscle health, growth, and strengthening across the lifespan is also an important consideration. While the current US-based recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for daily protein intake is at 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight for adults, re-evaluation of this amount may be needed for each patient. Studies indicate that an increase of daily protein may lead to greater muscle growth and enhance existing muscle quality and strength, especially when combined with resistance exercises.29-31 Tailoring daily protein amounts in addition to modifying the timing of protein consumption are important considerations for a personalized treatment strategy and are essential discussions to have with patients to support self-empowerment and continued intervention engagement. 

Learn more from functional medicine experts about how physical activity, from structured exercise routines that include resistance training to unstructured interruptions of sedentary behavior, positively impact cardiometabolic health at IFM’s upcoming Cardiometabolic Functional Medicine Advanced Practice Module® (APM).

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