Rx: Keep Fit!

Article Submitted by Heart Center of the Rockies, in partnership with Poudre Valley Health System. They can be reached at 970-221-1000.
Visit their website at www.HeartCenterOfTheRockies.com.

Of all the known cardiac risk factors, a low aerobic fitness level has proven to be one of the strongest predictors of subsequent mortality. The relationship is consistent: People who engage in an active lifestyle reduce their risk of heart attack by 45%. By active lifestyle, we mean those who exercise aerobically thirty or more minutes, most days of the week. People who can walk briskly, jog, swim, or participate in a spin class or aerobics class know very quickly if they have an adequate aerobic fitness level. If you can sustain these activities steadily for 30 minutes or more, you can probably call yourself aerobically fit. But, if you have to stop and catch your breath 10 minutes into your exercise, it is safe to bet you have not yet achieved aerobic fitness.

Physical activity favorably affects many established risk factors for coronary artery disease. In an analysis of 52 exercise-training trials over a 12 week period of time, the findings are notable:

1. Lipids:
HDL (good cholesterol) increased an average of 4.6%
Triglyceride levels decreased by 3.7%
LDL (bad cholesterol) decreased by 5%

2. Blood Pressure: Systolic blood pressure remains reduced for up to 12 hours after exercise. For every 1mm Hg drop in blood pressure, there is a 2-3% decrease in heart attack risk.

3. Blood Sugar: Physical activity reduces insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, therefore reducing the chance of a heart attack. About 75% of diabetics die of heart attack or stroke. Controlling blood sugar levels will minimize this risk.

4. C-Reactive Protein: CRP is a marker for inflammation. A high CRP level triples the risk of heart attack. In a 20 year follow-up of the British Regional Health Study, preliminary evidence shows that exercise based Cardiac Rehab programs reduced CRP levels by 41%. In contrast, CRP levels did not change in the control group who did not attend Cardiac Rehab.

5. Weight Loss: An increase in activity = increase in calories burned = increase in weight loss. Heart attack risk is lowered 35-55% in persons maintaining a healthy weight compared with those who are obese.

The message is simple: get moving! Take an extra walk at lunch, go for a bike ride, mow your lawn, clean your house, walk your dog each evening and take advantage of any reason to move. Use a pedometer and count your steps, aiming for at least 10,000 steps a day. Walking only 15 minutes will typically add up to 3,000 steps. In a study of 17,000 Harvard alumni, the men who burned an extra 700 calories a week by walking, playing sports, or doing some other form of dynamic exercise lived longer than those who weren't active. The health benefits continue to increase up to about 2,000 calories a week, then seem to level off from there. Similar trends were noted for women.

Even small changes in our lifestyle can make a BIG difference.