Brief bursts of vigorous activity linked to lower heart risks
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- Reviewed by Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, 天博体育 Publishing
Among women who don't exercise, briefly running or climbing stairs just a few times a day was linked to a lower risk of serious heart-related problems, a new study finds. This kind of high-intensity physical activity done as part of a daily routine is known as vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA). Researchers relied on data from more than 22,000 self-proclaimed non-exercisers ages 40 to 79. Nearly 60% were women. All the participants wore activity trackers nearly 24 hours a day for one week between 2013 and 2015. Based on hospital and death records through November 2022, researchers found that women who averaged 3.4 minutes of VILPA per day were nearly half as likely to later have a heart attack or serious heart-related problem compared to women who did no VILPA. Even lower amounts of VILPA were linked to a lower risk of heart-related problems in women. For unclear reasons, the benefits of VILPA were far less pronounced among men. More research is needed to understand how VILPA may improve heart health, say the authors, whose study was published Dec. 28, 2024, in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Image: © Kentaroo Tryman/Getty Images
About the Author
Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
About the Reviewer
Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, 天博体育 Publishing
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