Lifting weights was linked to fewer heart attacks. Not fewer strokes.

Cohort study. 117,025 people. mean follow-up 14.5 years (1,630,964 person-years); NHS 2002-2020, NHS II 2003-2017; up to five repeated assessments of physical activity.

People were watched for years. Nobody was told what to do. A clue, not proof.

Who: US female registered nurses free of MI, CABG, angina, stroke and cancer at baseline: 45,669 from NHS (mean age 66.8) and 71,356 from NHS II (mean age 48.1); ~97.5% White

• Heart & stroke events-20%2+ hours a week
• Heart attacks-44%2+ hours a week
• Fewer strokesnoneno clear change

More to know, from our read of the paper:

• Observational cohort: linked, not proven. Authors: residual confounding by healthy-user traits (health consciousness, access to care, social support) cannot be ruled out
• Resistance training self-reported (hours/week for arms and legs, summed); no information on type, intensity or supervision
• All participants were nurses, ~97.5% White: may not apply to other populations
• Main model (Model 3) adjusts for aerobic activity, smoking, alcohol, diet, calories, aspirin, menopause, family history, race; it does NOT adjust for BMI or diabetes/hypertension/cholesterol (treated as mediators). With BMI: HR 0.83 (0.72-0.96); plus cardiometabolic conditions: HR 0.86 (0.75-0.98)
• Among women already meeting aerobic guidelines, the major-CVD association was marginal (HR 0.86, 0.73-1.01); only MI stayed clearly lower (HR 0.55)

Researchers followed 117,025 US nurses for about 14.5 years. Women who reported 2 or more hours of strength training a week had a 20% lower risk of heart attack, stroke, bypass or stent combined, and 44% lower risk of heart attack alone, than women who did none. Stroke showed no clear change. Women who did cardio, lifted weights and watched under 2 hours of TV a day had the lowest risk. This is an observational study: linked, not proven.

We read the abstract and the full text of this paper and checked every number on this page against it (17 facts, checked on 2026-10-29). The study design is named above. Cohort and other observational studies are described as linked, not proven. Found an error? Email theis@onestudyaday.com.