Cardiac patients: active late with enormous effect
Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.
More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.CHD patients who only become physically active later in life can impressively reduce their risk of premature death. The stake required is not that high after all.
Anyone who tended to be reluctant to exercise up to the age of 60 does not need to start anymore? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that! At least people with coronary artery disease (CHD) benefit significantly.
Even starting an active lifestyle later seems almost as beneficial to survival as ongoing physical activity. Your risk of premature death drops almost to the level of cardiac patients who have been active in the past.
"Encouraging Results"
"These encouraging results show how patients with coronary artery disease can benefit from maintaining or adopting a physically active lifestyle," said study author Dr. Nathalia Gonzalez from the University of Bern, Switzerland.
Together with colleagues, the researcher had evaluated nine long-term studies with a total of more than 33,000 CHD patients. These were on average 62 years old, 34 percent of them were women. The scientists presented their research results at the ESC Congress 2021.
The physical activity of the participants was recorded at the beginning and at the end of the studies after an average duration of 7.2 years using special questionnaires.
150 minutes of exercise per week is enough
The definition of active and inactive, while varying between studies, was consistent with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for a healthy lifestyle: at least 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous activity - or a combination thereof.
On this basis, the researchers divided the patients into four groups and assessed their respective risk of death in comparison to the consistently inactive participants.
The result: Participants who were active at the beginning and at the end of the studies had a 50 percent reduced risk of death. Her risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was 51 lower.
Those participants who only became physically active during the course of the study were almost on par with a 45 percent reduction in general mortality. Their specific cardiac death risk was 27 percent lower than that of consistently inactive participants.
Participants who were initially active but stopped at the end still benefited with an overall mortality reduction of 20 percent. Their cardiac death risk was no less than that of people who had been inactive over the entire period.
Participants who remained inactive at all times died correspondingly more often.
"Early years of inactivity can be compensated for"
"The results show that continuing an active lifestyle for years is associated with the highest life expectancy. However, patients with heart disease can compensate for years of inactivity and gain a survival benefit if they start exercising later in life," said Gonzales.
Conversely, if activity is not continued, the benefits of an active lifestyle could diminish or even be lost.
The results show that heart patients benefit from being physically active regardless of their previous habits.
CHD is the leading cause of death
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in western industrialized countries. In affected patients, the coronary vessels that supply the heart muscle are narrowed due to arteriosclerosis. As a result, the heart has a poorer blood supply. If a vessel becomes completely blocked, it can cause a heart attack.
CHD manifests itself, among other things, in chest tightness and chest pain (angina pectoris), which can radiate to other areas. Cardiac arrhythmias can also occur. If the disease progresses, heart failure can develop.
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