Four minutes of daily exertion can halve heart attack risk in women, finds study

[highplainsdem]

Source: Guardian

Women who add four minutes a day of high-intensity routine activities such as climbing the stairs instead of taking a lift could halve their risk of heart attacks, a study suggests.

Less than five minutes of brief bouts of exertion in everyday life could have a significant effect on heart health, reducing the risk of serious cardiovascular events, researchers found. The results were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

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The researchers said this was particularly important for women who don’t or can’t exercise regularly, for whatever reason, because women tended to have a lower level of cardiorespiratory fitness than men at any given age.

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The benefits of these bursts of effort, which could include walking quickly for the bus, for example, were pronounced in women – with 1.5 to four minutes a day leading to “substantially lower risks” of heart problems.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/dec/03/women-high-intensity-routine-four-minutes-daily-halve-heart-attack-risk-uk-biobank-study

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British Journal of Sports Medicine link:

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2024/10/25/bjsports-2024-108484

[XanaDUer2]

1. I've taken to climbing the stairs

Several times. Good to read this

[elleng]

2. Doubt I'd do hi intensity, MAY try 5 minute yoga!

[kimbutgar]

3. I live in a house with stairs and probably go up and down at least 10-20 times a day.

And when I go shopping I park my car far away from the shops and walk to and from on purpose for exercise.

[NJCher]

4. Good to know

So thanks, highplains.

I do this pretty regularly but now I’m going to make a point of tracking it. It sure isn’t hard for a gardener. It seems like we are always tackling a 40 lb bag of compost, moving a heavy plant, or shuttling a wheelbarrow of compost across the field.