New research shows that physical activity lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing stress-related signaling in the brain.

The study was led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Massachusetts General Hospital Brigham Health System; Journal of the American College of Cardiologypeople with stress-related illnesses such as depression experienced the most cardiovascular benefits from physical activity.

To assess the mechanisms underlying the psychological and cardiovascular disease benefits of physical activity, Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, a researcher and cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center, and his colleagues The medical records and other information of 50,359 participants were analyzed. General Brigham His Biobank completed a physical activity survey.

A subset of 774 participants also underwent brain imaging and measurements of stress-related brain activity.

At a median follow-up of 10 years, 12.9% of participants developed cardiovascular disease. Participants who met physical activity recommendations had a 23% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to participants who did not meet recommendations.

People with higher levels of physical activity also tended to have lower stress-related brain activity. Remarkably, the stress-related decrease in brain activity was caused by increased function in the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain involved in executive function (i.e., decision making, impulse control) and is known to suppress the brain’s stress centers. The analysis took into account other lifestyle variables and risk factors for coronary artery disease.

Additionally, stress-related reductions in brain signaling partially explain the cardiovascular effects of physical activity.

As an extension of this finding, researchers found that in a cohort of 50,359 participants, exercise-induced cardiovascular found that the effect was significantly large.

“Physical activity was approximately twice as effective in reducing cardiovascular disease risk in patients with depression. Stress-related effects on brain activity may explain this new observation.” said Tawakol, senior author of the study.

“Prospective studies are needed to identify potential mediators and prove causality. In the meantime, clinicians need to know that physical activity has important effects on the brain and that stress-related symptoms such as depression We may be able to tell patients that there may be greater cardiovascular benefits for those with the syndrome.”