People who have thing legs may be a higher risk of heart failure after suffering cardiac arrest, according to a new study.
While a lot of people can be self conscious about their 'thick' legs, they can actually be a health sign, the experts say. The research found that a heart attack - known medically as myocardial infarction - is the most common cause of heart failure. Around six to nine per cent of those who suffer a heart attack go on to experience heart failure.
Previous research suggest that having strong quadriceps - the muscles at the front of the thigh - can lower the risk of death in those suffering with coronary artery disease, with the new study testing the association between leg strength and heart failure.
The study, published in the European Science of Cardiology, analysed a total of 932 patients who were hospitalised between 2007 and 2020 with acute myocardial infarction. The participants did not have heart failure prior to admission and did not go on to suffer heart failure complications during their stay in hospital. The average age of those who took part was 66, reports the Mirror.
In order to measure leg strength maximal quadriceps strength was measured as patients were asked to sit on a chair contracting the muscle as hard as they could for five seconds.
A handheld dynamometer was attached to each patient's ankle to receive a recording of the maximum value in kilos. Measurements were taken from both legs, with the average value used by researchers.
The value was divided by body weight in kilos before being multiplied by 100 for a percentage expressed relative to the participants overall bodyweight.
Researchers categorised the patients as 'high' or 'low' strength according to whether their value was above of below the the median for their sex - 33 per cent for women and 52 per cent for men.
In total, 451 patients were found to have low quadriceps strength, with 481 found to have high strength.
The Japanese researchers carried out follow-ups of four and a half years on average, with 67 patients (7.2 per cent) developing heart failure.
Heart failure was record as 10.2 per 1,000 person in patients with high quad strength compared to 22.9 per 1,000 in those with low strength.
The results suggest that high leg strength was associated with 41 per cent lower risk of developing heart failure, with the research team also finding that each five per cent body weight increment in quadriceps strength was associated with an 11 per cent lower risk of heart failure.
Study author and physical therapist at Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kensuke Ueno, commented: "Quadriceps strength is easy and simple to measure accurately in clinical practice.
"Our study indicates that quadriceps strength could help to identify patients at a higher risk of developing heart failure after myocardial infarction who could then receive more intense surveillance."
He added: "The findings need to be replicated in other studies, but they do suggest that strength training involving the quadriceps muscles should be recommended for patients who have experienced a heart attack to prevent heart failure."
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