Get Active and Ditch Sedentary Lifestyle to Curb Risks of Heart Failure

Are you living life on the couch or often being called as the 'couch potato'? Being a little lazy may seem harmless, but it can soon become a habit, paving the way to a bigger problem. You may convince yourself that gaining a few extra pounds on your body can't hurt, but that's how weight issues start. Several research studies have revealed that a sedentary lifestyle is one of the major causes of diseases, affection billions across the globe. Cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, stress, sleep disorder, etc all trace back to sedentary lifestyle. It adversely affects metabolism, heart and other parts of the body. A new research done by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center US has revealed that lack of exercise and excessive weight may lead to heart failure.
(Healthy Lifestyle May Keep You Younger by 10 Years)When the heart is unable to supply enough oxygenated blood to meet the demands of the body, this chronic condition is known as heart failure. The study's senior author and Associate Professor Jarett Berry said, "Previous studies have consistently found an association between low levels of physical activity, high BMI (body mass index), and overall risk of heart failure, but this study shows that the association is more pronounced for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, the type of heart failure that is the most challenging to treat."Heart failure is approximately equally divided between two subtypes; heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HfrEF).
 
The StudyEjection fraction means the percentage of the blood that exits the heart with each contraction. Although treatments have been developed for treating heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, there are no evidence-based treatments for the other type. The researchers looked at data from 51,000 participants in three cohort studies, the Women's Health Initiative, the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), and the Cardiovascular Health Study, for carrying out the research. There were 3,180 individuals who developed heart failure among, the total of 51,000 participants. 39 per cent of which, were heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, 29 per cent were heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and 32 per cent had not been classified when the data was gathered.The findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed, the incidence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction was 19 per cent lower for individuals who exercised at recommended levels. Likewise, body mass index (BMI) had an inverse relationship with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Higher BMI levels were strongly associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction than with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.Inputs from IANS