Exercise as a Treatment for Atherosclerosis

Angioplasty is often performed for stable coronary atherosclerosis. Only 20 minutes of exercise per day is better than angioplasty in preventing heart attacks and angina. The effect is probably due to the improvement of endothelial function. But beware that exercise, per se, is not a cure for atherosclerosis. Many are the amateur athletes who thought that as long as they were lean and exercised they could live on chocolate bars. Dead wrong.