A Narrative Review on the Effect of Exercise on Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Lifestyle intervention in the form of regular physical activity has been given as key for the prevention and management of CVDs. This narrative review helps to synthesizes current evidence from literature published between the year 2010 and 2025 regarding the physiological, molecular, and clinical effects of exercise on cardiovascular health. The review tries to explore the various mechanisms mainly related with the endothelial function, blood pressure regulation, myocardial metabolism, cardiac remodelling, autonomic balance, and mitochondrial adaptations. Both aerobic and resistance training types of modalities and mechanisms are discussed, with special attention to population-specific outcomes such as in hypertensive, elderly, and heart failure patients. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses-compliant methodology was used to select and identify 62 high-quality references, including randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, meta-analyses, and mechanistic investigations. Evidence supports that exercise is a powerful nonpharmacological intervention which helps to improve the cardiovascular function and reducing disease risk.