For people under 75, physical activity drastically reduces the risk of death.
- Each year, 80,000 people suffer a heart attack in France.
- For one in ten people, a heart attack causes death within an hour.
Gardening, walking, cycling: whatever activity you prefer, you have to move. Physical activity is necessary for good health, but for some people it is even more beneficial. In Neurology, researchers show that it allows victims of a heart attack to recover better. Concretely, the movement reduces their risk of death.
Risks of complications
A heart attack is the blockage of an artery. This blocks the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart, and causes the destruction of muscle cells present in the heart organ. Depending on the time before the emergency services intervene, this cardiovascular accident can have consequences of varying severity. “The infarction can lead to heart failure, and cardiac arrhythmias which pose a risk of sudden death“, precise Inserm.
A survey submitted to participants
To decrease these risks, the authors of this new research suggest exercising. “Our study shows that minimal physical activity can reduce long-term death from any cause in heart attack survivors.“, conclude the researchers. These results were obtained by observing the state of health of nearly 100,000 people, some of whom had had a heart attack. The participants themselves informed the amount of physical exercise carried out each week in answering a questionnaire All were followed for several years, four and a half years on average.
A significant reduction in the risk of death
According to the researchers, walking or gardening for three to four hours each week, or cycling between two and three hours per week, could reduce the risk of death by 54% for people who had previously suffered a heart attack. In those under 75, the risk is reduced by 80% for these levels of physical activity. “We found that benefits were even better when people walked between six and seven hours a week“, underline the researchers. According to them, for people under 75 years old, walking for thirty minutes each day is enough to reduce the risks. This corresponds to the minimum recommendations of theWorld Health Organization : adults should walk at least 30 minutes a day, five times a week.
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