Heart disease patients who sit a lot have worse health even if they exercise

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/uooh-hdp112515.php

Public Release: 25-Nov-2015
Heart disease patients who sit a lot have worse health even if they exercise
Patients with coronary artery disease spend an average of 8 hours each day sitting; men were more sedentary than women
University of Ottawa Heart Institute

Patients with heart disease who sit a lot have worse health even if they exercise, reveals research from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, and published today in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention.1

"Get up and move every 30 minutes to improve health."

"Limiting the amount of time we spend sitting may be as important as the amount we exercise," said lead author Dr Stephanie Prince, post-doctorate fellow in the Division of Prevention and Rehabilitation, University of Ottawa Heart Institute. "Sitting, watching TV, working at a computer and driving in a car are all sedentary behaviours and we need to take breaks from them."

Previous research has shown that being sedentary increases the risk of cardiovascular disease but until now its effect on patients with established heart disease was unknown.

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