Why a sedentary lifestyle is bad for your heart

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The more time you spend still, the more likely you are to develop heart muscle damage.

Those who sit for 9-10 hours a day (and this is the majority of office workers) run the risk of diabetes and heart problems. And the risk is almost not reduced, even if you play sports. Scientists came to such conclusions.

Immobility has long been associated with heart failure. With this disease, the heart gradually weakens and cannot pump the required amount of blood. As a result, the cells do not receive enough oxygen.

To understand how a sedentary lifestyle is linked to heart disease, cardiologists at the University of Texas Medical Center examined the Troponin proteins Sedentary Behavior and Subclinical Cardiac Injury. It is a marker of myocardial damage: for example, huge amounts of troponins are released into the bloodstream during a heart attack.

Even a slightly elevated level of these proteins causes concern for cardiologists if it does not decrease for a long time. A chronically elevated level signals damage to the heart muscle. If you do nothing, heart failure can develop. Cardiologist Philip Kuzmenko, author of the Telegram channel "Doctor Phil", talked about how dangerous it is.

Philip Kuzmenko, therapist, cardiologist, university teacher.

Chronic heart failure seriously reduces quality (people get shortness of breath and swelling in their legs) and life expectancy. Without eliminating the cause that caused CHF, the outcome is almost always a foregone conclusion - sudden death.

Scientists analyzed the results of the large cardiac study The Dallas Heart Study using the probability sample technique for ethnicity and cardiovascular health differences. They reviewed ECGs, blood tests, and activity tracker data from over 1,700 healthy participants. Particular attention was paid to the level of troponins in the blood and the readings of the activity trackers.

It turned out that many participants spend more than 10 hours sitting a day and rarely play sports. Basically, their physical activity is limited to walking. They also showed elevated troponin levels. Of course, it was much lower than in a heart attack, but nevertheless it signals a hidden damage to the myocardium.

The researchers tested other factors that could affect troponin levels: age, gender, body mass index, heart condition. But the relationship with an immobile lifestyle was most pronounced.

All body systems are tailored for physical activity, because our ancestors did not sit in the office, but ran after prey or in order not to become prey themselves. Therefore, sedentary work is a serious risk factor for developing heart disease and, as a result, chronic heart failure.

Philip Kuzmenko

Scientists cannot yet explain exactly how a sedentary lifestyle harms the muscle cells of the heart. According to the head of the study, cardiologist James de Lemos (James de Lemos), it affects the heart indirectly. “Immobility is associated with obesity, diabetes and fat storage in the heart. All of this can damage the heart muscle,”he says.

Moreover, it is important not only to sit less, but also to move more. Although there was no significant effect of exercise on troponin levels, de Lemos advises moving as much as possible. Walk up and down the stairs, park at the far end of the parking lot, hold meetings while standing or on the move.

A person who works in an office must: walk at least 2 hours a day; get up from the table every hour during the working day and do a 3-5-minute warm-up (squats, body rotation, stretching); carry out cardio training (in the absence of contraindications) 3-4 times a week.

Philip Kuzmenko