Both exercising more and sitting less – not just exercising more – are linked to a decreased risk of heart failure, says a new study published in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure.
Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body for blood and oxygen. Common symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, persistent coughing or wheezing, buildup of excess fluid in body tissues (edema), fatigue, lack of appetite or nausea, impaired thinking, and increased heart rate. Untreated heart failure can lead to death. Heart failure affects over five million people in the United States and European nations; it also contributes to around one in nine deaths while an estimated $32 billion/ 30 billion EUR in health care costs annually. However, these numbers can easily be lowered only, if individuals consider opting for regular heart check-ups from healthcare professionals like James Shand (looking up private cardiologist practice can help individuals locate him on the Web).
Anyway, not exercising enough has also previously been linked to an increased risk of heart failure. More recent studies now indicate that sitting too much – sometimes referred to as sitting disease – can also increase the risk of a potentially life-threatening health condition. It can also cause back pain due to sitting down for extended periods in one position. If that were to happen, then the need for adelaide low back pain treatment will be high, especially if it is a recurring issue that hinders other areas of someone’s life.
To investigate the link among exercise, sitting, and heart failure, researchers led by Dr. Deborah Rohm Young – a senior scientist at Kaiser Permanente in Pasadena, California – analyzed data on a racially diverse group of 84,170 men between 45 and 69 years old from the California Men’s Health Study. None of the men had heart failure at the start of the study. The researchers also assessed levels of physical activity and sedentary time.
Over the course of the study, 3,473 of the men were diagnosed with heart failure.
Men with the lowest levels of physical activity were 52 percent more likely to develop heart failure than men with the highest levels of physical activity. Regardless of physical activity levels, men who were sedentary for five or more hours outside of work were 34 percent more likely to develop heart failure. Furthermore, men who sat for more than five hours a day outside of work and who had the lowest levels of physical activity were twice as likely to develop heart failure than men who sat for less than two hours a day and who exercise the most.
In other words, exercising more and sitting less reduces the risk of heart failure.
The result can be alike for young as well as for senior people. However, while the young population can easily incorporate changes in their day-to-day life for a healthy lifestyle, it can be a daunting task for the elderly. So, for them, families can employ healthcare aids such as hiring a professional who can help with caring for the elderly at home, provide them emotional support, and assist with physical activities, stretching, exercises, etc.
Comments James Levine, co-director of Obesity Solutions at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and Arizona State University, who performed some of the first research on sitting disease but was not involved in the present study, “If you’ve been sitting for an hour, you’ve been sitting too long. My gut feeling is you should be up for 10 minutes of every hour.”
Two limitations of the present study include the lack of female participants and not accounting for sedentary activity during work.
However, the overall message appears to be that sitting less and exercising more are good for health.
References
Are you sitting down? Your heart failure risk is higher: http://www.freep.com/article/20140122/FEATURES08/301220052/Your-heart-failure-risk-is-higher-if-sitting-for-long-periods
Move more, sit less to reduce heart failure risk, say researchers: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/271518.php
Image Credits
Couch Potato Contest: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009_ESPN_Zone_Chicago_Ultimate_Couch_Potato_Contestant_-_Steve_Janowski_03.JPG
