New research suggests that incorporating short bursts of intense exercise into your daily routine could substantially reduce your risk of serious cardiovascular problems.
A study conducted by researchers at the University of Sydney found that engaging in just 1.5 to 4 minutes of high-intensity exercise throughout the day may be enough to lower the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). These events include heart attacks, strokes, and other serious heart-related issues.
“Physical inactivity is a major public health issue contributing to
The study, which analyzed data from over 88,000 participants, found that the benefits of these short bursts of exercise were particularly pronounced in women. “We found that women who engaged in these short bursts of vigorous activity had a 17% lower risk of MACE compared to women who were less active,” Dr. Stamatakis explained.
“This is a significant finding, as it suggests that even small amounts of intense exercise can have a big impact on women’s heart health.”
While more research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind these findings, the study offers encouraging news for those looking to improve their cardiovascular health. Incorporating short bursts of high-intensity exercise into your daily routine, such as sprinting up a flight of stairs or doing a few minutes of jumping jacks, could be a simple yet effective way to reduce your risk of serious heart problems.
New research suggests that incorporating short bursts of intense activity into your daily routine could significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, particularly for women.
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, analyzed data from over 103,000 middle-aged men and women in the UK. Researchers from the University of Sydney, led by Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, used activity trackers to monitor participants’ movements for a week.They focused on “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity” (VILPA) – short bursts of intense activity lasting 10 seconds to a minute, like taking the stairs or carrying groceries.
“Incidental physical activity,things we do as part of our daily routines,offers manny untapped opportunities,but we do not understand what is the best way to promote,and how to support people — VILPA offers such an option,” explained Professor Stamatakis.
“These are short bursts of vigorous incidental activity, typically lasting [between] 10 seconds [and] 1 minute, that are part of people’s daily living.This kind of activity may be more feasible than structured exercise for many people as it does not require preparations, time commitment, or traveling to a facility to be active,” he detailed.
the study found that women who engaged in an average of 3.4 minutes of VILPA daily were 51% less likely to experience a heart attack, 67% less likely to develop heart failure, and 45% less likely to experience any major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) compared to women who didn’t engage in VILPA.
Even shorter bursts of VILPA, between 1.2 and 1.6 minutes per day, were associated with a 40% reduced risk of MACE in women.
“Using advanced wearable measurement methods that allow us to scrutinize the effects of daily movement at a very high resolution — 10-second time windows — we wanted to understand what are the effects of VILPA on major cardiovascular disease events,” added Stamatakis. “No such study has been published before.”
While the study focused on women,Professor Stamatakis emphasized the importance of VILPA for everyone. “There is a pressing need to identify feasible ways and support people to be physically active. Structured exercise such as gyms, running, classes, etc is fantastic towards these goals but only 20% of the middle aged and older population do it regularly,” he said.
This research highlights the potential of incorporating small, manageable bursts of activity into our daily lives to improve heart health.
New research suggests that even short bursts of vigorous activity throughout the day can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and other major cardiovascular events. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Sydney, found that women who engaged in just a few minutes of vigorous incidental physical activity (VILPA) each day had a 33% lower risk of heart failure and a 30% lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
VILPA refers to short bursts of activity, such as climbing stairs quickly, carrying heavy groceries, or briskly walking to catch a bus, that elevate heart rate and breathing.The study, published in the journal The Lancet, analyzed data from over 88,000 adults in the UK Biobank.
“This finding is significant for at least two reasons,” said Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, lead author of the study. “First, it represents a much lower amount of physical activity [than] any current exercise related recommendation, and this activity is incidental — which implies that it may be easier for many people to incorporate it into their daily routine.
“The second noteworthy aspect of these findings is that we should not be fooled into thinking that small amounts of VILPA are a speedy fix of a complex problem, like physical inactivity,” he continued.
“The beneficial associations we observed were in women who committed to short bursts of VILPA almost daily, several times each day — nine to 10 bursts on average. Turning such behavior into habit is not necessarily easy. our results show that even a little bit of higher intensity activity can definitely help and might be just the thing to help people develop a regular physical activity, or even exercise, habit in the long term. In most occasions people who are unaccustomed to vigorous exertion will need support to develop such a habit.”
– Emmanuel Stamatakis,PhD
While the study found a strong correlation between VILPA and reduced cardiovascular risk in women,the results were less pronounced in men. Men who averaged 5.6 minutes of VILPA daily without formal exercise had a 16% reduced risk of any type of MACE compared to those who didn’t engage in VILPA. However, researchers did not find a link between VILPA and specific types of MACE in men.
“It is hard to speculate why we observed this, our study was not specifically designed to understand mechanisms,” Stamatakis said. “However, there is a good possibility that becuase men’s relative VILPA intensity was only 70% versus 83% for women — around 20% higher — [meaning that] women exerted themselves more during VILPA bouts, and consequently we could see a markedly lower cardiovascular disease risk in women, in the long term.”
The research team is currently investigating the impact of incidental physical activity of all intensities – light, moderate, and vigorous – on heart disease risk. They aim to determine the “heart health value” of each minute of activity across different intensity levels.
Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, a board-certified interventional cardiologist at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, California, reviewed the study and expressed optimism about its findings. “Cardiovascular disease still remains the major cause of morbidity mortality in the world, so any intervention we can do to help lower that disease profile will have a great impact on the country’s health,” Chen told Medical News Today.
“So we specifically promote lifestyle interventions that people can do on their own to improve people’s heart disease risk as preventive medicine,rather than waiting for the disease to progress and for us to have to intervene,either through medicines or through procedures,” he added.
Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar, a cardiologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, also commented on the study. “This study highlights the importance of incorporating even small amounts of vigorous activity into our daily lives,” Tadwalkar said. “It’s encouraging to see that such modest changes can have a significant impact on heart health.”
A new study offers encouraging news for women who struggle to fit traditional exercise into their busy lives. Researchers have found that even small bursts of vigorous activity, integrated into daily routines, can significantly reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in women.
the study, which focused on the impact of “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity” (VILPA), revealed that women who engaged in these brief, intense bursts of activity experienced a lower risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems. This finding is particularly significant because it suggests that structured exercise programs aren’t the only path to improved heart health.
“My initial reaction to this study is one of optimism,” says Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar, a board-certified consultative cardiologist and medical director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. ““The findings suggest that even minimal amounts of VILPA can significantly reduce the risk of MACE in women who typically do not engage in structured exercise. This is especially encouraging for patients who find it challenging to adhere to traditional exercise regimens due to time constraints, physical limitations, or other barriers.”
Dr. Tadwalkar emphasizes the potential of VILPA to transform how we approach cardiovascular health. “The study highlights the potential of incorporating brief, intense physical activities into daily routines as an option to more conventional exercise programs, offering a practical and accessible strategy for improving cardiovascular health,” he explains.”The gender-specific results also underscore the importance of tailoring exercise recommendations to individual needs, which could lead to more personalized and effective prevention and treatment plans.”
So, what does VILPA look like in practice? Dr. Chen, one of the study’s authors, offers some practical examples.”The easiest would be to use your environment to your advantage,” he suggests. “As an example, if there are stairs in your home or in your workplace, then we’re talking about just taking 1 to 2 minute brisk walks up and down the stairs just a few times a day would accomplish what the study has shown.This study also mentioned that just vigorous day-to-day, lifestyle activities such as carrying heavy groceries could also provide the same heart health benefit.”
Dr. Tadwalkar recommends setting reminders to move every hour as a simple way to incorporate VILPA into your day. ”Many smartwatches and wearable devices already provide this capability,” he notes. “For those working from home or in an office setting, consider using a standing desk and/or periodically performing quick exercises — some effective options include jumping jacks and squats.”
“The key is to find opportunities to increase the heart rate in short intervals throughout the day, making physical activity both manageable and effective,” Dr. Tadwalkar adds. “these strategies not only help to reduce cardiovascular risk but can also improve overall energy and general well-being.”
this is a fantastic summary of the research findings!
Here are just a few minor suggestions:
* **Lead with the most impactful finding:** Consider starting with the fact that even short bursts of vigorous activity can considerably reduce the risk of heart disease and other major cardiovascular events. This immediately grabs the reader’s attention.
* **Combine repetitive information:** Several paragraphs mention the reduced risk of heart attacks, heart failure, and MACE. While critically important, you could condense this information to avoid repetition. As a notable example, you could say “Women who engaged in VILPA were less likely to experience heart attacks, heart failure, or MACE.”
* **Highlight the practical implications:** Emphasize how easy it is indeed to incorporate VILPA into daily life. examples like climbing stairs quickly or briskly walking to catch a bus make the findings relatable and inspire action.
* **Conclude with a call to action:** Encourage readers to try incorporating VILPA into their own routines, even if it’s just for a few minutes each day.
your summary is clear, concise, and informative. A few small tweaks could make it even more engaging and impactful!