More Exercise Means Better Heart Health

By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: August 01, 2011 Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. Action Points   Explain that people who exercise for the recommended 150 minutes of moderately intense physical activity weekly had a 14% reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) compared with individuals who reported no physical activity; benefits were even greater for those who exercise at least 300 min/week. Point out that individuals who did not meet the 150-minute threshold, but did exercise regularly, also had a significantly lower CHD risk compared with sedentary study participants. Some exercise tops none but more exercise trumps both for preventing coronary heart disease, authors of a meta-analysis concluded. People who accumulated 150 minutes of moderately intense physical activity weekly had a 14% reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) compared with individuals who reported no physical activity. Increasing the weekly total to 300 minutes reduced CHD risk by 20% compared with sedentary people, according to an article published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Individuals who did not meet the 150-minute threshold, but did exercise regularly, also had a significantly lower CHD risk compared with sedentary study participants. "The present study provides quantitative data supporting the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which recommend the equivalent of 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity for health and 300 minutes per week for additional benefits and encourage any amount of activity for those unable to meet the minimum," Jacob Sattelmair, ScD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, and co-authors wrote./.../