WEDNESDAY, Dec. 4, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Small amounts of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA) are associated with significant reductions in the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) among nonexercising women, according to a study published online Dec. 3 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Emmanuel Stamatakis, Ph.D., from the University of Sydney, and colleagues examined sex differences in the dose-response association of VILPA with MACE and its subtypes among individuals self-reporting no leisure-time exercise and no more than one recreational walk per week in the U.K. Biobank. Analyses were also conducted among those self-reporting participation in leisure-time exercise and/or recreational walking more than once a week.

The researchers identified 331 and 488 MACE among 13,018 women and 9,350 men, respectively, during a 7.9-year follow-up. There was a near-linear dose-response association seen for daily VILPA duration with all MACE, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. Dose-response curves were less clear in men, with less evidence of statistical significance. Women’s median daily VILPA duration of 3.4 minutes was associated with hazard ratios of 0.55 and 0.33 for all MACE and heart failure, respectively, compared with those with no VILPA. Hazard ratios of 0.70, 0.67, and 0.60 were seen for all MACE, myocardial infarction, and heart failure, respectively, in association with women’s minimum doses of 1.2 to 1.6 minutes of VILPA per day.

“Although these findings are observational, they suggest that VILPA may be a promising physical activity target for cardiovascular disease prevention among nonexercising women,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Complement Theory Inc.

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