But people who do twice as much dropped their risk by 20% and getting three times as much or 90 minutes translated to a 35% lower risk. But, a new analysis shows that’s not enough.
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The research, which included data from 12 studies from United States and Europe, found that the current US physical activity guidelines recommendation of a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week, resulted in only a modest reduction in heart failure risk.
So it seems physical activity and heart failure may be what they call “dose-dependent”. “The findings from the present study suggest that higher levels of physical activity may help combat this growing burden of heart failure”. This applies to all ages, genders, and races.
A new study in the journal Circulation says 30 minutes of exercise is probably not doing squat – or certainly not enough to save you from a heart attack. The American Heart Association reports that it accounts for “a significant proportion” of hospitalizations and deaths of older Americans.
Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘The importance of regular physical activity in maintaining good heart health is already well known as the heart is a muscle and works more efficiently when exercised.
Lead study co-author, Dr. Ambarish Pandey-who is a cardiology fellow with the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School-notes, “Future physical activity guidelines should take these findings into consideration, and potentially provide stronger recommendations regarding the value of higher amounts of physical activity for the prevention of heart failure”.
Official advice on the minimum exercise people should do may not be enough to substantially lower the risk of heart failure, experts have warned. “If someone is an exercise trainer, then he will be more active at his workplace and that may not be accounted for in the leisure activity that we have looked at”.
However, the researchers are saying that ten percent is not enough to warrant the activity.
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In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that one minute of vigorous activity is about the same as two minutes of moderate activity, so you can do a mix of the two each week.
