Exercise Benefits for Healthy Heart

Aerobic Exercise Benefits

Exercise Benefits

Chronic heart failure patients are often afraid to exercise. In fact, even if you do moderate exercise routine proven to provide health benefits for patients. Evidence that exercise and physical improvement of mental health has revealed many researchers.

Recent research scientists at Duke University Medical Center found that moderate exercise can help relieve depression, and even reduce the risk of death (though not significant).

The findings are published in the August 1, 2012 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This also adds to our understanding that there is a complex relationship between exercise and improved mental and physical health.

"We do not know which came first - heart disease or depression - but we know they are related," said James A. Blumenthal, PhD, at Duke University and lead researcher of the study.

Cardiovascular Exercise Benefits

"Exercise has been proven to be safe for patients with heart disease and may also improve depression. Research show the benefits of the combination of exercise for heart failure patients which include improvement in the mental health and cardio-vascular system," he added.

To prove his invention, Blumenthal and colleagues and involved 2322 patients at 82 medical centers in the United States, Canada and France.

Patients were randomly assigned to receive usual care, including medicines needed and recommendations for exercise, and usual care plus supervised exercise three times a week for 30 minutes. After three months, the exercise group was asked to continue exercise at home for nine months without supervision.

All patients underwent a physical stress test early and filled out a questionnaire to measure symptoms of depression such as feelings of sadness, hopelessness, emotional, and sleep disorders. The test is repeated every three months for the first year. Patients were also asked to visit the clinic every three months in the second year of the study, and again in the fourth.

Patients who fall into the stationary bicycle or treadmill exercise showed greater improvement of cardio-pulmonary function (healthy heart) of those, as measured by peak oxygen consumption and longer duration of exercise than patients who received usual care.

Depression score was also better in the group of trainees compared with those who received standard care. Heart patients who exercise depression scores fell 1.75 points in the first three months, while patients who received usual care only down 1 point.

During the research it was carrying as much as 68 percent of patients who received usual care (without exercise) died or was hospitalize, while in the exercise group at 66 percent.

"This study shows exercise is not only related to the physical health benefits, but also important in mental health," Blumenthal said.

"By engaging in physical activity (exercise) patients got significant improvements (healthy heart) in mental health, reduced hospitalizations and lower mortality risk," he concluded.