More movement and less sitting reduces heart failure risk in men

A new cohort study finds heart failure risk is 52% greater in men who sat for at least five hours a day and got little exercise compared to men who were very physically active and sat for two hours or less a day. 

 

Sitting for long periods of time even with regular exercise could spell heart trouble

Although the benefits of physical activity for risk of coronary heart disease are well established, less is known about its effects on heart failure (HF). The risk of prolonged sedentary behavior on HF is unknown.

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente examined the link between heart failure risk and sedentary time. Dr. Deborah Rohm Young, PhD, lead researcher and a senior scientist at Kaiser Permanente in Pasadena, California and colleagues followed a racially diverse group of 82,695 men, aged 45 years and older from the California Men’s Health Study without prevalent HF (heart failure) who were followed for up to ten years. Physical activity, sedentary time, and behavioral covariates were obtained from questionnaires, and clinical covariates were determined from electronic medical records. Incident HF was identified through International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes recorded in electronic records.

During a mean follow-up of 7.8 years (646 989 person-years), 3473 men were diagnosed with HF
After controlling for sedentary time, sociodemographics, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, unfavorable lipid levels, body mass index, smoking, and diet, the results showed;

•   Men with low levels of physical activity were 52 percent more likely to develop heart failure than men with high physical activity levels, even after adjusting for differences in sedentary time.
•  Outside of work, men who spent five or more hours a day sitting were 34 percent more likely to develop heart failure than men who spent no more than two hours a day sitting, regardless of how much they exercised.
•  Heart failure risk more than doubled in men who sat for at least five hours a day and got little exercise compared to men who were very physically active and sat for two hours or less a day.

Results showed similar trends across white and Hispanic subgroups, body mass index categories, baseline hypertension status, and prevalent coronary heart disease.

In their conclusion the team writes “both physical activity and sedentary time may be appropriate intervention targets for preventing HF.”

The limitations included these results may not apply to women since there were no women in this study and results were self-reported, which could mean physical activity was over reported; results were based only on time outside of work and can't be applied to overall sedentary activity; and participants were members of comprehensive health plans, so results may not apply to men lacking health insurance.

This study is the first to examine the link between heart failure risk and sedentary time said Dr. Young.

“Be more active and sit less. That's the message here," she adds.

The study supports the American Heart Association recommendation that people get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity to reduce their risk for heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases, she concluded.

This study is published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Heart Failure.

The American Heart Association recommends;

• At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150 OR
  
• At least 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75; or a combination of the two AND
  
• Moderate to high intensity muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 or more days per week for additional health benefits.