To Your Health
November, 2025 (Vol. 19, Issue 11) |
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Your Heart Needs Movement
By Editorial Staff
We know exercise, particularly aerobic exercise that makes your heart work, is beneficial for heart health. But do you know even if you're active, your heart needs movement? Let's take a look at a new study that suggests even active people are at risk for cardiovascular disease if they sit / lie around too much.
Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the study tracked nearly 90,000 adults (average age: 62 years), determining average sedentary time per day and then tracking participants for approximately eight years to assess which ones experienced cardiovascular disease-related events (or died due to such an event) during that time. Specific heart complications evaluated during the study period included atrial fibrillation (irregular / rapid heartbeat), heart failure, and myocardial infarction (heart attack).
Findings showed that spending more than 10.5 hours per day engaged in sedentary behavior was significantly associated with a risk of suffering heart failure or cardiovascular death – even among people who achieved recommended levels of exercise (150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity). The risk was even higher in people who did not meet recommended activity levels, but the risk remained for both sedentary and active study participants.
The moral to the story? Your heart needs movement – and even if you think you're active, if you're sitting around for too long during the day, 30 minutes of brisk walking, jogging or similar activities won't completely counter the cardiovascular risk from not moving. So give your heart what it needs – find ways to move more and sit / recline / lie down less throughout the day ... every day.
