Facteurs de risque,lipoprotéines et activité physique et sportive

Aim. – Estimate the impact of physical activity on cardiovascular risks factors.Recent data. – Coronary artery atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disease with a progressive evolution. Physical exercise has an impact on a majority of classical coronary artery disease risk factors. However, in daily practice, it is difficult to assess nutritional behaviours or the physical activity level. Only a very meticulous evaluation would enable the study of their actual and specific impact. Lipoprotein metabolism is dynamic and the effects of prolonged physical activities remain complex. The impact on low-density (LDL) lipoproteins is generally weak, whereas it is highly significant on triglycerides and on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Generally, the beginning of a prolonged physical exercise induces an increase in HDL cholesterol between 0.02 and 0.08 g/l and a decrease of triglycerides between 0.05 and 0.38 g/l.Conclusion. – To obtain such a result, prolonged but not necessarily very intense physical exercise is necessary to consume 1200–2200 kcal per week. The promotion of physical exercise should be the cornerstone of coronary artery disease prevention.