Study says exercise could lower cardiac risk for women

Middle-aged women who are physically active even just a few times per week decrease their risk of heart disease, stroke and blood clots, according to a massive new study involving data from over one million women.

The UK-based research team, whose study was published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, were surprised to see that increasing activity did not further reduce the risk.

In this particular study, activity that brought on sweat and a faster heartbeat was considered strenuous, and women who engaged in such activities two to three times per week reduced their risk of cardiac problems by 20 per cent.

The activities observed in the study that benefitted participants included walking, gardening and cycling.

Data on 1.1 million women was sourced from the Million Women study that took place between 1996 and 2001, and the UK-based participants averaged 56 years of age when they joined the study. They self-reported their physical activity levels at the beginning of the study and three years later and the research team weighed this information against their health data, including hospital admissions and deaths.

“Inactive middle-aged women should try to do some activity regularly,” says lead author Miranda Armstrong, MPhil, PhD, a physical activity epidemiologist at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, adding that it’s not necessary to become a full-blown athlete.