Why heart patients for at least 30 minutes Per day should move

People with cardiovascular disease could benefit from regular physical activity even more than Healthy. At least South Korean doctors to Sang-Woo Jeong of Seoul National University reports, according to a study in the “European Heart Journal”.

The cardiologist Martin Halle of the Technical University of Munich who was not involved in the work, speaks of an “immense effect strength”. Now you can patients with cardiovascular diseases still rates more forcefully to engage in sports.

The study examined well-440.000 women and men from South Korea with an average age of just under 60 years, who had attended the insured person at an investigation program for the sick. About 130,000 of them had a heart – or vascular disease diagnosed to get a heart attack, stroke, chronic heart failure or coronary heart disease. The rest of the 310,000 in the participants were, in this respect, healthy.

All of the subjects reported in a questionnaire how much they moved. The extent of the movement, the scientists then with death about six years cases compared in the following. Result: The cardiovascular patients lowered their risk of death with physical activity significantly more than the healthy participants.

Sleep better, feel better, work better

“People with heart disease were a little less than the other participants, but the more sports driven people are, the lower the risk of death in the following six years was,” is Jeong cited in a communication from the magazine.

Those patients walked five times per week for a half an hour fast or comparable to a lot of moving, reduced their risk of dying within six years, 14 percent. At heart-healthy comparable movement reduced mortality by only 7 percent. In addition, the values increased in Healthy hardly, if you drove even more sports. Heart patients, by contrast, benefited significantly more intensive activity even more.

The sportiest of the heart sick participants reached in the study period, a similar high or even lower risk of death than the subjects who were heart healthy, but no sports shoots.

“A number of previous studies has shown that physical activity helps to control risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar,” explains Co-author Si-Hyuck Kang. “People who are physically active, sleep better, feel better and work better.”

The current study, however, also has weaknesses. Thus, the evaluation of how much the participants are moving based only on Self-reports at the beginning of the study. In addition, the results could be distorted, because people’s health is better, also more Sport and eat healthier.

“If Sport was a drug, then a Blockbuster”

Nevertheless, hall is confident: “If Sport was a drug, then a Blockbuster, everyone would prescribe it.” The Medical Director of the center for prevention and sports medicine Klinikum rechts der Isar, but it is pointed out that the study focused on a sports focus, but not to other physical activities such as vacuuming or other housework.

“What do heart disease, in order to achieve the effects, is not even a little bit,” explains hall, who is also a member of the scientific Advisory Board of the German heart Foundation. “Physical activity counted in the study only if it was carried out at least 30 minutes at a time. Only at the highest intensity for 20 minutes was enough. Is meant to be so here and there a bit, but longer units.”

Important was also that the patients in the study lowered their risk of death alone by sports, but in addition medications took. Nevertheless, the expert emphasized: “Now we can advise patients with even more emphasis that you should take for sports time.”

Also in the health care system, a change of thinking could be initiated: “To have motivation purposes, the typical sports groups for heart patients, funded by health insurance,” says hall. “However, once or twice per week, three quarters of an hour is not enough. Every day, 30 minutes of brisk walking: This is for a patient with a cardiovascular disease the right dose.”