Effects of Physical Activity on Life Expectancy With Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

The beneficial effect of physical activity in the prevention of cardiovascular disease is widely known and is supported by a large amount of evidence.^1,2 From the bus drivers described by Morris et al^3,4 to the Harvard alumni more recently described by Paffenbarger et al,^5,6 different studies have reported a protective effect of physical activity on total mortality, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in the general population.^7-14 Through lowering the inflammatory response involved in atherogenesis and modifying the traditional risk factors of cardiovascular disease, increasing physical activity reduces the rates of cardiovascular disease in the general population.^6,15 Expected effects are seen for different levels of intensity, from moderate to very high, different durations, and for different activity types.^11,16,17 However, it remains unclear whether physical activity levels have a significant effect on life expectancy or on time spent with and without cardiovascular disease. This is crucial to assess the contribution of physical activity in cardiovascular risk management. In this study we calculated the effects of different levels of physical activity on life expectancy and years lived with and without cardiovascular disease at age 50 years or older.