Exercise Is Great For Heart Patients – Up To A Point

Researchers in the U.S. who conducted a long-term study of the impact of regular physical activity on 2,400 cardiovascular patients found that heart-related deaths dropped 65 percent when patients ran up to 30 miles a week or walked up to 46 miles a week. But beyond that, the benefit of exercise was lost, and the risk of death increased,  in what is described as a reverse J-curve pattern. “The benefits of running or walking do not accrue indefinitely and that above some level, there is a significant increase in risk,” the researchers said. They noted that competitive running events seem to increase the risk of an “acute event”.