Excercise does in fact help the heart attack patients

The latest findings about the suggested physical activity of those with heart damage reports moderate exercise

For the study, researchers registered 2331 patients with moderate to severe heart failure at 82 sites throughout the United States, Canada and France from 2003 to 2008.

The study hoped to show that regular exercise would lower the incidence of death and hospitalization induced by heart failure.. There are approximately 5 million Americans who have been diagnosed with heart failure, and it is a leading cause of cardiac death and hospitalization.

The patients began on a 36-session training program and were advised to have regular sessions of aerobic-type exercise, like walking on a treadmill for 25 or 30 minutes, five times a week. Others were told to stick to a usual-care regimen, which included a passing reference to exercise.

Although patients who have suffered heart attack are told to rest, despite increasing evidence, light physical activity is advantageous and may help increase survival rates in certain patients.

During the study, 796 (68 percent) of patients in the usual care arm died or were hospitalized, compared to 759 (65 percent) in the exercise arm. There were 198 deaths (17 percent) among patients in the usual care arm, compared to 189 (16 percent) in the exercise arm.

Dr. Christopher M. O’Connor, the principal investigator of the trial and director of the Duke Heart Center at the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., said: “The message for the average heart failure patient is: ‘We believe there are benefits from exercise. Quality of life is important, and physical fitness is important.’ ”

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