Excessive Sitting Linked to Increased Heart Disease Risk: Study

• 26 Nov 2024

Excessive Sitting Linked to Increased Heart Disease Risk: Study

 

A new study reveals that sedentary behavior significantly increases the risk of the most common types of heart disease, even in individuals who engage in sufficient physical activity. Researchers at Mass General Brigham found that prolonged sitting, especially exceeding 10.6 hours a day, was associated with a 40-60% greater risk of heart failure and cardiovascular death. Sedentary behavior is defined as any waking activity involving low energy expenditure while sitting, reclining, or lying down, excluding sleep.

 

The study emphasizes that meeting the recommended levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity may not be enough to reduce cardiovascular risks if one also spends excessive time sitting. These findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

 

Lead author Ezimamaka Ajufo, a cardiology fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, stated, “While there is a lot of research on the benefits of physical activity, we knew little about the consequences of excessive sitting beyond the general awareness that it might be harmful.” Ajufo added, “Sedentary behavior remains a risk even for those who are physically active, which is important because many of us assume that if we exercise at the end of the day, it can counterbalance the time spent sitting.”

 

Ajufo’s team, including researchers from across MGB, analyzed activity-tracker data from 89,530 individuals in the U.K. Biobank prospective cohort. They explored the links between time spent sitting and the future risk of four common cardiovascular diseases: atrial fibrillation, heart attacks, heart failure, and cardiovascular death. The team used machine learning algorithms to classify sedentary behaviour.

 

Interestingly, many of the harmful effects of prolonged sitting persisted even among people who met the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week. While the risk of atrial fibrillation and heart attacks could be largely eliminated by physical activity, the increased risk of heart failure and cardiovascular death could only be partially mitigated by exercise.

 

Co-senior author Shaan Khurshid, an electrophysiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, explained, “Our data supports the idea that sitting less and moving more is crucial for reducing heart disease risk. Avoiding excessive sitting is particularly important for lowering the risk of heart failure and cardiovascular death.”

 

The research team hopes these findings will influence future public health guidelines and efforts to reduce sedentary behavior. They also plan to extend this study to explore the impacts of sitting on other diseases over longer periods.

 

Co-senior author Patrick Ellinor, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, concluded, “Exercise is essential, but reducing excessive sitting appears to be equally important. We hope this work empowers both patients and healthcare providers to incorporate movement behaviors into cardiovascular health strategies.”