Keeping active is universal secret to beating heart risk, says new study
A new study from an international group of researchers has shown that taking part in physical activity both during the working day and in our leisure time can help lower the risk of heart attacks. The findings differ from previous studies by showing that this rings true for people living in both developed and developing countries. The results of the INTERHEART study, published in the European Heart Journal, come from a case study of over 29 000 people in 52 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and North and South America. 'Until now, few studies have looked at the different aspects of physical activity both at work and during leisure time in relation to the risk of heart attacks,' says lead study author Professor Claes Held from Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden. He continues: 'Much is already known about the association between physical activity and cardiovascular risk, but what this study adds, among many other things, is a global perspective.' The study findings show that mild to moderate physical activity at work, and any level of physical activity carried out during leisure time, reduces the risk of a heart attack, independent of other traditional risk factors in men and women of all ages. This finding was a common feature in most regions of the world and in countries with low-, middle- or high-income levels. Surprisingly, the research showed that carrying out heavy physical labour at work did not necessarily reduce the risk of having a heart attack. The study also found that people who owned a car and a television were significantly more at risk from heart attacks, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries. Professor Claes Held notes: 'These data extend the importance of physical activity and confirm a consistent protective effect of physical activity across all country income levels in addition to the known benefits of modifying traditional risk factors such as smoking.' The researchers working on the study, hailing from Canada, Pakistan, Sweden and the United States, compared the work and leisure exercise habits of 10 043 people who had suffered their first heart attack with 14 217 healthy people. They asked the participants about their activity levels: whether their work was mainly sedentary or heavy physical labour, and whether it involved predominantly walking at one level, mainly walking including walking uphill, or lifting heavy objects. Concerning leisure-time physical activity, participants were categorised in four groups: those whose were mainly sedentary (sitting activities, such as sitting reading, watching TV), and those who carried out mild exercise (yoga, fishing, or easy walking), moderate exercise (moderate effort, such as walking, cycling or light gardening for at least four hours a week), and strenuous exercise (running, football or vigorous swimming). The participants were also quizzed on whether they owned a car, a motorbike, a radio, a television or a computer. The researchers also noted whether participants managed any land or livestock. They found that people whose work involved either light or moderate physical activity were less likely to have a heart attack when compared with people whose occupation was mainly sedentary. However, heavy physical labour did not reduce the risk at all. During leisure time, the risk of a heart attack was lower for any level of exercise when compared with being mainly sedentary, falling by 13% for mild activity and by 24% for moderate or strenuous activity. A greater proportion of people from low-income countries had sedentary jobs and undertook less physical activity in their leisure time, than in middle- and high-income countries. Professor Held says: 'The data have some real-life implications. One suggestion may be for the lower income countries to be more involved in promoting physical activity as their societies starts to use more labour-saving devices, so as to counteract the inactivity that this can lead to; however, it also important to promote physical activity in all parts of the world.'For more information, please visit: European Society of Cardiology:http://www.escardio.org/Pages/index.aspx
Countries
Canada, Pakistan, Sweden, United States