Since 1995, a team of University of Missouri-Columbia researchers has studied the effects of exercise on the cardiovascular system using miniature Yucatan pigs and treadmills.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - February is American Heart Month, and coronary heart disease remains the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Since 1995, a team of University of Missouri-Columbia researchers has studied the effects of exercise on the cardiovascular system using miniature Yucatan pigs and treadmills. That work will continue for at least five more years thanks to a $10 million grant renewal from the National Institutes of Health.

MU has the only program in the world where scientists are studying pigs in this capacity, said Harold Laughlin, chair of the MU Department of Biomedical Sciences. Our goal is to learn how exercise and activity can help prevent and treat heart disease. The next step is to educate the public and encourage them to exercise.²

MU researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Medicine's Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology and the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center study miniature Yucatan pigs because they have similar coronary anatomy to humans. Pigs also have a sedentary, or inactive, lifestyle, which also affects more than half of American adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CDC statistics show that more than 900,000 Americans die from cardiovascular disease every year. Physical inactivity is a key risk factor in those deaths. Over the past 10 years, MU researchers have found regular physical activity can reduce the risk of developing and possibly dying from coronary heart disease.

Researchers have discovered many ways in which exercise benefits humans. One project focused on smooth muscle cells in the arteries of the heart. Contraction or relaxation of these cells produces constriction, or relaxation, of blood vessels in the heart. These cells are less likely to contract in large arteries of exercise subjects who exercise regularly.

A second project is focused on cells that line blood vessels, also called endothelial cells. Laughlin said experts thought these cells only functioned as a lining for the blood vessels. However, research has shown that endothelial cells release chemical signals that prompt a number of responses, including blood vessel relaxation. Exercise makes it easier for cells to tell smooth muscles to relax, which could be beneficial in coronary heart disease.

In the next series of studies, researchers will study pigs with advanced heart disease in an effort to determine if exercise can reverse the damage. Laughlin suggests even if an effective treatment for heart disease is found, people should take appropriate measures to prevent the problem by choosing an active lifestyle and adopting healthy eating habits.

³As technology improves, media consumption increases, and exercise takes a backseat to inactivity, people of all ages are risking their health, Laughlin said. Inactivity itself is a disease, but it is a disease that we all can prevent.

The NIH originally funded the project in 1994 with a five-year, $6.8 million grant. A renewal in 2000 provided an additional $8 million.million.

Return to News and Events home