Exercising Regularly May Reduce Risk of Immediate Death From Heart Attack

Approximately 12% of people who suffer a heart attack will die from it. The highest risk of dying from a heart attack occurs during the first month following a heart attack. A new study has found that people with a moderate to high level of physical activity have a decreased risk of dying immediately from a heart attack.

For their study, the researchers used data from 10 observational cohorts that included 28,140 participants who had a heart attack during the follow-up period. Physical activity levels were evaluated at baseline. Participants weekly physical activity levels were categorized as sedentary, low, moderate, or high.

The researchers found that 17.7% of participants died within 28 days after having a heart attack. Of those, 62.3% died immediately. Participants with a moderate or high level of physical activity had a 33% and 45% lower risk of dying immediately after a heart attack compared to participants who were sedentary. Similar results were seen for dying within 28 days after a heart attack.

The study was conducted by researchers from Bispebjerg Frederiksberg University Hospital.It was published on February 10, 2021 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.