How a daily 20 to 40 minute jog or stroll can reduce heart failure risk by more than 60%

• Image Credit: Healthline

• Sep 6, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

The study advises persons who are overweight or obese, have high blood pressure, raised blood sugar, and elevated cholesterol levels to engage in more physical exercise.

Digital Desk: To cut your risk of heart failure in half,
all you need to do each week is 150–300 minutes of walking or 75–100 minutes of
running. A UK research that followed 95,000 individuals found that moderate to
strenuous exercise had the desired impact on heart health.

Chronic heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to
pump enough blood to keep the body well-oxygenated. Regular exercise may lower
the chance of getting heart failure in a variety of different ways. As an
illustration, it assists in preventing weight gain and associated
cardio-metabolic diseases, such as high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes,
which are all risk factors for heart failure. According to Frederick K. Ho, one
of the study's authors from the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health
at the University of Glasgow, regular exercise may also strengthen the heart
muscle, which may help prevent heart failure.

The study advises persons who are overweight or obese,
have high blood pressure, raised blood sugar, and elevated cholesterol levels
to engage in more physical exercise. The researchers used data from an
accelerometer to understand the patterns of physical activity rather than
relying on study participants reporting their level of weekly physical
activity. After more than six years of follow-up, the researchers discovered
that the risk of heart failure was 63% lower in those who completed 150 to 300
minutes of moderate activity and 66% lower in people who completed 75 to 100
minutes of intense exercise.

It is generally known that regular exercise promotes
heart health, according to Dr. Rakesh Yadav, professor of cardiology at the All
India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. However, he advises
seniors who are at risk for heart failure to engage in moderate exercise
instead of intense routines, such as walking or yoga. The risk of heart attack,
cardiovascular disease, and heart failure increases with a sedentary lifestyle. Therefore,
we recommend that everyone walk for about 45 minutes each day, adds Dr. Yadav,
who also points out that there are always a number of confounding variables in
such research, such as whether the participants were more health-conscious or came
from a higher socioeconomic background.

Even
more so, he believes that the majority of India was not intended for the
research. "A large percentage of individuals in our nation work in the
fields, are outside all day and walk to work. All of these activities count as
physical exercise. They don't have to get up and go for a stroll by themselves
every morning. He adds, “However, those who remain at home for most of the time
such as retired people or housewives or sedentary workers in offices must
ensure that they keep moving around.”

Develop a routine that’s
reasonable and agrees with your routine

Dr. Yadav claims that many people have not resumed
their regular habits of physical activity because of fact that many people
are still working from home due to the flex office hours that were implemented
during the epidemic. "The human body is incredibly adaptable, but this
also means that if you do not walk or exercise for a long time, it will become
sedentary. Therefore, I advise my patients to continue moving," he stated.

Instead of working out hard once in a while, people
should make it a habit. "You see some people diagnosed with diabetes
suddenly working out a lot for a month. But they do not continue beyond that
because it is either untenable or exhausting. This is why the physical activity
has to be something reasonable that can easily be accommodated in the routine,”
he adds.