Heart patients advised to move every 20 minutes to prolong life

Heart patients are advised to move every 20 minutes to prolong life as a result of a study presented at the 2018 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress (CKC).

CCC 2018 will be held October 20-23 in Toronto, Canada. Invited experts from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) will participate in joint scientific sessions with the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) as part of the ESC Global Activities Program.

Heart patients spend most of their waking hours sitting, lying, and watching television. Previous research has shown that staying sedentary for long periods of time could shorten life, but taking breaks to get around can offset the risk, especially if it means burning more than 770 kcal per day. This study examined how many breaks and how long it takes to spend 770 kcal.

"Our study shows that cardiac patients must discontinue sedentary lifestyles every 20 minutes with a light physical activity of 7 minutes," said Dr. Ailar Ramadi, author of the study, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. "If simple activities such as getting up and walking at a casual pace will spend more than 770 kcal a day if done with this frequency and duration."

The study included 132 patients with coronary artery disease. The average age was 63 years old and 77% were men. Participants wore a cuff activity monitor for 22 hours a day on average for five days. The activity monitor recorded the amount of energy expended during breaks since inactivity, the amount of time of inactivity, as well as the number and duration of breaks during each sedentary hour .

Dr. Ramadi said, "There is a lot of evidence now that sitting for long periods of time is bad for our health." Our study suggests that during each hour of the session, heart patients should take three breaks, totaling 21 minutes. of light physical activity.This will cost 770 kcal per day, an amount associated with a lower risk of premature death. "

Regarding the limitations of the research, Professor Joep Perk, spokesperson on ESC prevention, said that it was a small research study. observation without control group. "A randomized controlled trial is needed before it becomes a firm recommendation," he said. "Nevertheless, regular physical activity is the key to a healthy life, whether you are cardiac or not."

Dr. Michelle M. Graham, Chair of the CCC 2018 Science Program Committee, said, "We are pleased that innovative studies such as that by Ramadi and colleagues are being presented to CCC, and their innovative work has implications very practical, not only for patients with cardiovascular disease, but to improve prevention by changing the way people work in sedentary environments. "

Professor Jeroen Bax, former president of the CES and director of the CES program at CAC 2018, said: "Sedentary lifestyles affect more than half of the world's population, and the ESC recommendations on the prevention of cardiovascular disease recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate treatment, vigorous activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.Any activity is better than nothing and more activity is better than others. "

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