To Your Health
August, 2023 (Vol. 17, Issue 08) |
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Weekends Are for Heart Health
By Editorial Staff
Heart health is an increasingly big topic of discussion, particularly as poor diet, lack of exercise and soaring stress put more people at risk for cardiovascular disease. While activity guidelines recommend at least 150 weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, for some people, finding the time during the workweek can be a challenge.
If that's you, don't despair: Findings from a new study suggest even "weekend warriors" can improve their heart health and avoid life-threatening cardiovascular events.
Researchers examined how physical activity patterns – specifically the "weekend warrior" pattern of activity over 1-2 days per week vs. activity spread out more evenly throughout the week – correlated with the risk of suffering a cardiovascular event (incident atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke). Researchers also evaluated a third physical activity pattern (inactive, meaning fewer than 150 activity minutes per week) for comparison in terms of cardiovascular event risks.
Both activity patterns (weekend warrior and evenly distributed activity) were associated with similar reduced risks of experiencing atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, heart failure and stroke. As might be expected, both patterns were more effective at lowering heart event risk compared to being inactive. The researchers make their findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, clear: "Within nearly 90,000 individuals providing wrist-based activity quantification, physical activity concentrated within 1 to 2 days was associated with similarly lower risk of cardiovascular outcomes to more regular activity."
Simply put, when it comes to heart health, get at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-intense physical activity a week – every week – no matter when and how you do it! Weekend warriors rejoice! Talk to your doctor for more information about what you can do to promote heart health for a lifetime.
