Replacing just 30 minutes of sedentary time with workouts is associated with more than 61 percent lower risk of heart issues
The more you sit and follow a sedentary lifestyle, the higher your risk of disease—including heart issues like heart attack and stroke, according to a new study. Experts believe too much sitting not just shortens your lifestyle, but sedentary behaviour has also been linked to heart issues—the number one cause of death across the world.
Every year, millions visit emergency rooms with chest pain, and around 65 per cent of them are admitted to the hospital, data shows. Doctors say even though heart disease is the top cause of death, it is also highly preventable. With a good and balanced diet, exercise, stress, and regulated sleep, you can take care of your cardiovascular health—whether you have a heart issue or not.
Researchers from Columbia University took a closer look at sedentary behaviour following hospital admission for chest pain and other symptoms of acute coronary syndrome, or ACS, which included breathlessness, sweating, and dizziness. They wanted to know if there was a connection between the amount of sedentary lifestyle and the risk of having a heart attack.
The study, published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, found that replacing just 30 minutes of sedentary time with low-intensity workouts is associated with more than 50 per cent lower risk of heart issues. Also, replacing 30 minutes of sedentary time with moderate-vigorous physical activity was associated with a 61 per cent lower risk of cardiac events.
Also, researchers concluded that swapping sitting with just about anything else, including sleep, is also instrumental in making your heart healthy.
How does exercise help improve heart health?
According to experts, regular workouts can help lower blood pressure levels, cholesterol, and triglycerides—all of which contribute to cardiovascular issues.
Harvard Health says workouts improve your muscles’ ability to pull oxygen out of the blood, reducing the need for the heart to pump more blood. It also lowers stress hormones that can put an extra burden on the heart and works like a beta blocker to slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure.
Exercise is instrumental in increasing high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, and helps control triglycerides.
The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine both recommend combining aerobic exercise like jogging, swimming, and biking with resistance training like moderate weightlifting. Together, these two categories of exercise produce the greatest benefit for preventing and managing heart disease.
