Physical Activity Reduces Heart Failure Risk In Men, Large Clinical Study Finds

Sitting around too much – i.e., the sedentary lifestyle – greatly increases the risk of heart failure, a U.S. study has found. Researchers tracked a racially diverse group of 84,170 men ages 45 to 69 without heart failure for eight years, measuring exercise levels as well as hours spent just sitting around. Men with low levels of physical activity were 52 percent more likely to develop heart failure than men with high physical activity levels, even after adjusting for differences in sedentary time. Preventing heart failure requires a two-part behavioral approach: high levels of physical activity plus low levels of sedentary time. "Be more active and sit less. That's the message here," the researchers concluded.