Physical activity cuts risk of heart disease
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By David Liu, Ph.D.
Saturday Aug 6, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- Regular physical activity can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a study published on Aug 1, 2011 on the website of the journal Circulation.
Physical activity has been associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease in many previous studies. The current study quantified the association and found people who spent a minimum of 150 minutes per week on moderate intensity leisure time physical activity - the minimum amount of physical activity recommended by U.S. government recommends, were 14 percent less likely to suffer coronary heart disease, compared with those who did not engage in any leisure time physical activity.
For the study, Jacob Sattelmair, MSc, ScD of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues searched and found 3194 study reports in English released since 1995 and meta-analysed data from 33 of them to see how physical activity quantitatively affect the risk of coronary heart disease.
The association was established based actually on the data from 9 out of the 33 studies.
The researchers also found those who spent 300 minutes of time per week of moderate intensity physical activity were 20 percent less likely to develop coronary heart disease.
But the reduction in coronary heart disease by higher intensity physical activity was only moderately greater.
The association between physical activity and risk of coronary heart disease was stronger among women than men.
So why does physical activity help protect against heart disease?
Dr. Jonathan Myers of VA Palo Alto Health Care System at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA explained why physical activity reduce the heart risk in 2003 in Circulation.
Dr. Myers said regular physical activity or exercise offers cardiovascular benefits including increasing exercising tolerance, good cholesterol and insulin sensitivity and reducing body weight, blood pressure, and bad cholesterol.
So how much physical activity is needed to prevent cardiovascular disease?
Dr, Myers cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as recommending that "Every American adult should participate in 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity activity on most, and preferably all, days of the week."
Coronary heart disease (CHD), also known as coronary artery disease is simply a condition in which the small blood vessels become narrowed, according to the U.S government. CHD is a leading cause of death in American men and women.
Coronary heart disease is caused by the buildup of some plaque in the inner walls of the arteries to the heart leading to hardening of the arteries.
A health observer suggests that one should never count on physical activity to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Other lifestyle parameters can also affect the risk.
A person's diet affects his risk of coronary heart disease. DASH diet and Mediterranean diet are known to be associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
Foods and nutrients that are heart healthy include vitamin k2, green tea, high levels of vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, tart cherries, whole grains, and walnuts, early studies found. Midday naps also helps reduce the risk.
Men and women who have developed coronary heart disease need no worry. Those who do not want to use invasive treatments to treat their CHD, they have another option.
Dr. Dean Ornish, a Harvard trained doctor and professor of UC-San Francisco actually has been using a diet and lifestyle program to help patients with coronary heart disease. The efficacy of his dietary treatment is 99 percent. Patients who receive the treatment reverse their artery condition.
In a word, both physical activity and diet are important in preventing and treating coronary heart disease.
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