He also explained that even the high-risk group – patients who were diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease or a stroke – had a considerably lower risk of hospitalization and use of prescription medications, which leads to the lower healthcare costs.
Advertisement
The American Heart Association (AHA) now recommends either 30 minutes of aerobics with moderate level of intensity for five days a week, or 25 minutes of aerobics with vigorous intensity for three days a week.
The researchers add that if 20 percent of cardiovascular disease patients not exercising already started to meet recommended goals, several billion dollars in healthcare costs could be saved every year.
Results of a recent study have actually linked regular exercise to huge yearly savings on medical bills, reports NBC News.
A recent study found that adults with cardiovascular disease ― think: coronary artery disease, stroke, heart attack, arrhythmias or peripheral artery disease ― who also exercised regularly spent ,500 less on health care than their sedentary counterparts. The study is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
“The financial benefits with regular exercise were notable across the entire spectrum of risk including those with and without known cardiovascular disease”, study author Dr. Khurram Nasir, director of the Center for Healthcare Advancement and Outcomes at Baptist Health South Florida, said by email.
These findings support what has always been suggested by the American Heart Association, which has claimed twenty-five minutes of vigorous aerobic activity three times a week, or at least thirty minutes of moderate aerobic activity five days a week significantly improves one’s health. Vigorous activity “causes heavy sweating or large increases in breathing or heart rate” and includes “running, race walking, lap swimming, aerobic classes, or fast bicycling”. Hopefully with the new data, patients will see that exercise can save them money, making it one more incentive to get out there and get active.
“There is no better pill than regular exercise if you want to age healthy, avoid severe chronic diseases and more importantly, to limit the financial [burden] of paying too much for your health care”.
For example, he said if almost two-thirds of the estimated 19 million people with cardiovascular disease do not achieve the recommended goals of exercise, that adds up to 12 million people.
Not surprisingly, the study participants who had cardiovascular disease had higher healthcare costs than their peers who did not have cardiovascular disease.
Exercise not only helped those with heart disease lower their healthcare costs, but it seemed to help those without heart disease as well. Among survey-takers who did not have cardiovascular disease, the scientists classified those with risk factors for it, including hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, and obesity.
Advertisement
Although there are some health problems people cannot avoid, exercise is one way patients can reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, or improve their health when they have cardiovascular disease.
