Heart patients advised to move more to avoid heart attacks and strokes 心髒病患者建議多采取一些行動，以避免心髒病發作和中風

News Release 17-Apr-2021

Editor’s note: One biggest lifestyle risk factor for modern man is that today’s working and living environment does not demand much movement. We sit often for too long in a day, in office and at home. Moving around is the very basic daily necessity for your health no matter you have experienced heart attacks or strokes. You do not have to go to any gym or use any exercise equipment. Simply walking (do not have to run) 30 minutes a day helps you a lot. If a person with or without any health condition diagnosed does not feel good here or there, the very first thing for him to do is start walking or do some basic exercise. If he has already done so, keep doing it and do not give up just because of his diagnosis of any disease. Lying or sitting still does not do any good to you.

編者註：現代人最大的生活方式風險因素是，當今的工作和生活環境對運動的要求不高。 我們通常一天在辦公室和家裡坐的時間都太長了。 無論您遇到心髒病發作還是中風，四處走動都是您健康的最基本日常必需品。 您不必去任何健身房或使用任何健身器材。 每天只需步行30分鐘（不必跑步），對您有很大幫助。 如果一個被診斷為健康狀況或沒有健康狀況的人在這里或那裡感覺不舒服，那麼他要做的第一件事就是開始散步或做一些基本的運動。 如果他已經這樣做，請繼續這樣做，不要僅僅因為他對疾病的診斷就放棄。 躺著或坐著對你沒有任何好處。

European Society of Cardiology

Research News

Sophia Antipolis – 17 April 2021: Elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes increase the risk of heart disease. But a large study today reveals that in people with these conditions, increasing activity levels is associated with a reduced likelihood of heart events and mortality. The research is presented at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Study author Dr. Esmée Bakker of Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands said: “Previous research showed that improvements in physical activity are beneficial to health. However, those studies were performed in the general population. In our study, we were interested to see if there were similar effects in individuals with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.”

The study included 88,320 individuals from the LifeLines Cohort Study. Participants underwent a physical examination and completed questionnaires about their medical history and lifestyle including exercise. The questionnaires were repeated after approximately four years.

Study participants were divided into five groups according to activity levels at baseline and four years: large reduction, moderate reduction, no change, moderate improvement, and large improvement.2 Participants were followed-up for a median of seven years after the first assessment for the occurrence of cardiovascular disease or death.

A total of 18,502 (21%) individuals had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or diabetes at the start of the study. The average age of this group was 55 years. After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline physical activity, the researchers found that those with a moderate to large improvement in physical activity were around 30% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease or die during follow-up compared to those who did not change their activity level.

The remaining 69,808 (79%) participants did not have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes at the start of the study. The average age of this group was 43 years. After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline physical activity, the researchers found that those with large reductions in physical activity had a 40% higher risk of cardiovascular disease or death compared to those who did not change their activity level.

Dr. Bakker said: “Our study suggests that to prevent heart attacks and strokes and boost longevity, healthy individuals should maintain their physical activity levels, while those with risk factors need to become more active. The associations we found were even more pronounced in people who were relatively sedentary at the start of the study, indicating that inactive people have the most to gain.”

To prevent heart disease, European guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity or an equivalent combination.3

Dr. Bakker said: “If you are currently sedentary, walking is a good activity to start with. If you are already hitting the recommended amount, try doing 10 minutes more each day or increasing the intensity.”

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Authors: ESC Press Office

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Funding: The study was funded by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Disclosures: None.

References and notes

1Abstract title: Impact of cardiovascular health status on the association between changes in physical activity and major cardiovascular events and mortality among 88,320 adults: outcomes of the Lifelines Cohort Study.

2Change in physical activity was based on weekly metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-minutes. When MET-minutes are translated to minutes of running per week (10 km/hour), the five groups are: large reduction (drop of at least 150 minutes), moderate reduction (25-150 minutes less), no change, moderate improvement (25-150 minutes more), large improvement (at least 150 minutes more).

3Piepoli MF, Hoes AW, Agewall S, et al. 2016 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice. Eur Heart J. 2016:37:2315-2381.

About the European Association of Preventive Cardiology

The European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) is a branch of the ESC. Its mission is to promote excellence in research, practice, education and policy in cardiovascular health, primary and secondary prevention.

About ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021 #ESCPrev2021

ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021, formerly EuroPrevent, is the leading international congress on preventive cardiology and the online annual congress of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

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