Heart patients should move every 20 minutes to prolong life: Study

Heart patients should interrupt sedentary time every 20 minutes with a seven minute bout of light physical activity to prolong life, according to a study.

Previous research has shown that being sedentary for long periods could shorten life but taking breaks to move around may counteract the risk, particularly if it means burning more than 770 kilo calories (kcal) a day.

This study, presented at the annual Canadian Cardiovascular Congress (CCC) in Toronto, investigated how many breaks, and for what duration, are needed to expend 770 kcal.

"Our study shows that heart patients should interrupt sedentary time every 20 minutes with a seven minute bout of light physical activity," said Ailar Ramadi from the University of Alberta in Canada.

"Simple activities such as standing up and walking at a casual pace will expend more than 770 kcal in a day if done with this frequency and duration," Ramadi said.

The study enrolled 132 patients with coronary artery disease. The average age was 63 years and 77 per cent were male. Participants wore an armband activity monitor for an average of 22 hours a day for five days.

The activity monitor recorded the amount of energy spent during breaks from inactivity, the amount of inactive time, and the number and duration of breaks during each sedentary hour.

"There is a lot of evidence now that sitting for long periods is bad for health. Our study suggests that during each hour of sitting time, heart patients should take three breaks which add up to 21 minutes of light physical activity, said Ramadi.

"This will expend 770 kcal a day, an amount associated with a lower risk of premature death," Ramadi said.