FRIDAY, Feb. 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Higher levels of physical activity (PA) are associated with a lower risk for heart failure in older women, according to a study published online Feb. 21 in JAMA Cardiology.

Michael J. LaMonte, Ph.D., M.P.H., from University at Buffalo–SUNY in New York, and colleagues examined whether accelerometer-measured PA and sedentary behavior are associated with incident heart failure in older women. The analysis included data from 5,951 women aged 63 to 99 years followed for a mean 7.5 years.

The researchers found that in a fully adjusted analysis, a 1-standard deviation increase in minutes of total PA per day was associated with a lower risk for overall heart failure and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, but not heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Similar results were seen for steps per day. An inverse relationship was seen for minutes per day of total sedentary time. Both light PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA were inversely associated with overall heart failure and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction but not heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Across age, race and ethnicity, body mass index, physical function, or comorbidity score, results were similar.

“Results suggest that promoting regular PA and minimal sedentary time in older women may be prudent for primary prevention of heart failure and its subtype with preserved ejection fraction for which treatment is limited,” the authors write.

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