People with heart disease who are sedentary most of the time may be able to improve their survival odds by getting just a little bit of exercise, a recent study suggests. Researchers examined data from 39 countries on 15,486 older adults with heart disease who completed questionnaires about the number of hours each week they devoted to mild, moderate and vigorous physical activities. Then researchers tracked everyone to see how many died or had serious problems like a heart attack or stroke. More than half of the participants were followed for nearly 4 years. Overall, researchers calculated that participants who doubled their weekly activity levels could lower their odds of premature death from all causes by 10 per cent and cut their chances of early death from heart problems by 8 per cent. The most pronounced gains in survival odds would occur for people who went from getting little or no exercise to getting even small amounts of mild activity like yoga, strolling or light housework, the study found. Moderate activity which causes a light sweat or only modest increases in breathing or heart rate includes fast walking, lawn mowing or heavy cleaning. Vigorous activity includes running or race walking, lap swimming or aerobics.
At the start of the study, all of the participants had already had a heart attack or been treated for serious health problems related to heart disease. They also had at least one other risk factor for death or serious complications related to heart disease such as diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking or age at least 60. The study didn’t find that the number of exercise people got was linked to their odds of having a heart attack or stroke, researchers report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. But it did find that the relationship between increased exercise and decreased mortality was strongest for patients at the highest risk of dying because of their risk factors for death and complications from heart disease.
The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how exercise habits influence the odds of death for people with heart disease. However, because previous research on exercise and longevity for heart disease has often focused on supervised workout programs, the current study offers fresh evidence of the benefits of activities people do on their own, said Dr.Thijs Eijsvogels of Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, author of an accompanying editorial.“Little volumes of physical activity resulted in large decreases of mortality risks,” Eijsvogels said.“This finding is important for patients as it highlights that every minute of exercise is beneficial for your health,” Eijsvogels added.“So if you cannot achieve the national exercise recommendations of 150 minutes a week, try to perform the exercise at a volume that is feasible for you.”