Playing sports is beneficial for everyone. It reduces cardiovascular risk and even for those with coronary artery disease or heart failure, sport improves quality of life.
Engaging in physical activity is a key factor in preventing cardiovascular risk in healthy individuals. Compared to sedentary individuals, moderately active people have a 30 to 40% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Even overall mortality is lower. Unfortunately, a lack of physical activity is frequently associated with other cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
It's also excellent for the heart!
Coronary patients also derive enormous benefits from daily physical activity: by significantly improving their prognosis, their life expectancy increases considerably. A coronary patient who engages in physical activity sees their overall mortality reduced by 271 per 100,000 years and their cardiovascular mortality reduced by 311 per 100,000 years!
How can this phenomenon be explained?
Physical exercise improves coronary artery dysfunction, thereby increasing blood flow to the heart and reducing symptoms. Furthermore, it tends to delay the development of new coronary lesions.
In practice
Any patient with coronary artery disease should discuss this with their doctor before engaging in any physical activity, in order to determine the most suitable sport and the details of a progressive training program. An exercise electrocardiogram is essential. For healthy individuals, whether resuming an activity or starting a new one, the important thing is to proceed gradually and at their own pace. The focus should be on consistency, not intensity.
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