Regular exercises can reduce the risk of heart attack by half: Study

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.

Monday 31 Aug 2015 - 13:49 Makkah mean time-16-11-1436 (Image from google) Saarbrücken, Germany (IINA) - A new research study has found that regular exercise can reduce the risk of dying from a heart attack by half, The Mail Online health news reported. Also, scientists claimed that taking a brisk 25-minute walk a day can add seven years to your life. Even people who do not start exercising until they are in their 70s can still improve their health, the academics behind the study say. The research was carried out by a team at Saarland University in Germany, who introduced a group of non-exercising but otherwise healthy and non-smoking people to a programme of exercise. Sanjay Sharma, professor of cardiac diseases at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London, said gentle exercise can reduce the risk of dying from a heart attack in the average person's 50s and 60s by half. 'This study is very relevant. It suggests that when people exercise regularly they may be able to retard the process of ageing,' he said. 'We may never avoid becoming completely old, but we may delay the time we become old. We may look younger when we're 70 and may live into our 90s. “Exercise buys you three to seven additional years of life. It is an anti-depressant, it improves cognitive function and there is now evidence that it may retard the onset of dementia.” He said everyone should be doing at least between 20 and 25 minutes of walking a day, involving brisk walking or slow jogging. 'If you know that something is 20 minutes away, try and walk it if you've got time and not take the bus,' he added. 'People with a heart condition shouldn't run but walk to a point where they can still speak. He noted that exercise will bring benefits whatever age or condition. People who start exercising at the age of 70 are less likely to go on to develop atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm condition that affects about 10 percent of people over 80. SM/IINA