Is Exercise Really Helpful In Preventing Heart Disease?

Dr. Sidney Smith answers the question: 'Does Exercise Prevent Heart Disease?'

By
Sidney C. Smith Jr., M.D., Professor of Medicine; Director, Center for Cardiovascular Science and Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
December 24, 2008, 1:53 PM ET
1 min read

— -- Question: Is exercise really helpful in preventing heart disease?

Answer: I think exercise is very important in terms of preventing heart disease , and the American Heart Association certainly recommends exercise. The most recent recommendations are at least 30 minutes per day, each day of the week, of physical activity.

Now that can actually vary. For instance, you don't need to be running 10Ks everyday to get that in, but taking stairs in buildings. For instance, I see people that go to the drug store, they circle the lot looking for a parking place. If they would park out further, get out of the car, they'd be there sooner, they'd be healthier than the people that are still circling the lot.

So we can get exercise in many ways, but it's very clear now that daily exercise, at least thirty minutes of physical activity, is beneficial in terms of preventing heart disease, and that's one of the recommendations of the American Heart Association.

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