Here ’s How Often You Should Exercise to Keep Your Heart Young

New research suggests that in order to keep your heart in the best shape, you should try to exercise for at least 30 minutes four to five times per week. It’s well established that weekly exercise is important, and current government recommendations advise people to exercise for 150 minutes every week. But for people specifically interested in making sure their hearts are healthy, there’s been some debate over how much exercise is necessary. As people age, their arteries, which are critical for transporting blood in and out of the heart, are at risk for stiffening and causing disease. Though the researchers of the new study, which is published in the Journal of Physiology, say that any amount of exercise reduces the overall risk of death from heart disease, arteries can be affected differently by exercise, depending on their size. To better understand exercise and artery health, researchers looked at 102 men and women who were over age 60 and had logged their exercise histories for at least 25 years. The researchers measured their artery stiffness and separated them into different groups according to how often they exercised each week. Based on what they observed, the researchers concluded that people who reported regularly working out two to three times a week for at least 30 minutes a session had more youthful middle-sized arteries, which are important for blood flow to the head and neck. People who regularly exercised four to five times a week for at least 30...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Exercise/Fitness healthytime Source Type: news