The heart, lungs, blood, blood vessels, and all vital organs in the body make up the cardiovascular or circulatory system. And so, all organs must get oxygen and nutrients to function properly daily, such as the brain, which basically runs us. And that is ensured when the heart pumps blood into them through its foot-soldiers, aka blood vessels. This process of the body receiving the oxygenated blood starts from the lungs, which get the oxygen from the air we breathe and infuse it into our blood while removing the carbon-dioxide gas generated by our cells, tissues and organs when energy is produced. This oxygen-rich blood then reaches the heart and is pumped into various body organs.
Cardiovascular disease arises when there is some problem, damage or blockage in any part of the cardiovascular system. Over the past few decades in India, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have become a significant health concern. As of 2016, it has been estimated that approximately 28 per cent of all deaths in India have been caused due to cardiovascular diseases, according to "Global Burden of Disease" study. The contributing factors to developing cardiovascular disease include hypertension, smoking, diabetes, a poor diet rich in junk food, and a sedentary lifestyle. A significant concern in India is the widespread prevalence of these risk factors across all socio-economic groups and the relative lack of awareness and control over these conditions.
There is also a high burden of, and a steep rise in, premature CVD deaths among Indians in the economically productive age group (35-64 years), which poses a significant public health and economic challenge. Notable names from the Indian film industry have succumbed to this disease in the last couple of decades, including Rajiv Kapoor, Farooq Shaikh, Satish Kaushik, Om Puri, Reema Lagoo, Puneeth Rajkumar, Inder Kumar, Sidharth Shukla, KK, Raju Srivastav, Raj Kaushal, Nirmal Pandey, Siddhaanth Vir Surryavanshi and Nitesh Pandey. While on the other hand, celebrities like Sushmita Sen, Saira Banu, Annu Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Remo D’Souza and Sunil Grover have survived a heart attack.
India’s most prevalent forms of CVD include ischemic heart disease and stroke. Ischemic heart disease refers to the heart not getting sufficient oxygen and blood, so it does not get the energy to contract and, thus, fails to provide oxygenated blood to the body. A stroke, on the other hand, means loss of blood flow to a region in the brain, resulting in damage to the brain tissue, which may lead to a severe loss of autonomous function of heartbeat regulation.
How calf muscles keep the cardiovascular system optimal
The excellent news is that CVDs can be prevented with regular exercise and working on our calf muscles. The calf muscle is often called our ‘second heart’ or the ‘peripheral heart’. So now, when we talk about the role of calf muscles in maintaining our cardiovascular health, it is critical to enabling the body’s venous pump mechanism. When we move our lower body muscles, such as while walking or engaging in any form of physical activity or sports, the contraction and relaxation of our calf muscles squeeze the veins in the legs and help to pump blood back up to our heart, this assists in the overall circulation of blood in your body.
However, after intense and prolonged activity, the appropriate cooldown is also necessary to improve blood circulation throughout the body because the blood pools around our legs after extended training, and less is available for circulation in the upper extremities. This blood pooling in the lower body is known as venous insufficiency. It’s a condition where blood flow through the veins is inadequate. This condition can be caused by insufficient cooling after exercise and, in the case of a sedentary lifestyle, can be caused due to weakening of the calf muscle pump. This muscle pump weakening can contribute to conditions like varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis (formation of blood clots), and even pulmonary embolism (obstruction of the artery in the lungs).
How can exercise improve calf muscle function and cardiovascular health?
Regular physical activity can improve calf muscles and help improve cardiovascular health by:
1. Regular use of calf muscles during physical activity improves blood circulation by improving the efficiency of the calf muscle pump. Specifically, exercises targeting the legs include walking, running, cycling, swimming, or lower-body resistance training.
2. Regular physical activity can help lower overall blood pressure, which contributes to cardiovascular diseases.
3. Regular exercise helps reduce overall cholesterol in the body. Specifically, it reduces the levels of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and a type of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) known as small and dense LDL particles that clot very quickly in our arteries, which increases our risk of heart attack and myocardial infarction leading to cardiac arrest. So, regularly exercising lowers your heart disease risk.
4. Regular exercise promotes high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles in the body that carry the cholesterol back into the liver to be disposed of out of the body, thus, reducing cholesterol levels, which has a protective effect against heart disease.
5. Regular exercise makes our bodies more insulin sensitive. Thus throughout the day, specifically after meals, the insulin can effectively reduce blood sugar levels, thereby reducing our risk of suffering from a condition of chronically high insulin levels in the body known as hyperinsulinemia and developing type 2 diabetes, a significant risk factor for heart disease.
So, now that you know the significance of calf muscle in reducing the risk of heart disease, being physically active for at least 150 minutes at moderate intensity per week is critical to keeping your cardiovascular system strong. Consider a qualified healthcare and exercise professional before starting any new workout regimen, especially if you are new to exercising or have a pre-existing health condition.
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