Heart patients, stroke survivors may live longer if they stay active after hospital discharge
Major health issues can do significant harm from both a mental and physical perspective. Patients often struggle to bounce back, even if their doctors believe they can make a full recovery.
One thing a patient can do to maximize their odds of survival is be as physical active as possible. In fact, two recent studies linked prolonged sedentary behavior following a hospitalization with a higher mortality risk.
Sedentary behavior after hospital discharge increases cardiac risks
In one study, researchers tracked data from more than 600 patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) symptoms from 2016 to 2020. The mean age was 62 years old and 52% were men. Patients wore a wrist-mounted device that tracked physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep for 30 days after being hospitalized.
The group shared its findings in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.[1] Overall, patients who were the least active were associated with a heightened risk of experiencing an adverse cardiac event or death within one year. In fact, replacing even 30 minutes of sedentary time with sleep or even light amounts of physical activity was linked to a reduced cardiac event/mortality risk.
“These findings show that sedentary behavior may constitute an independent risk factor and potential therapeutic target for intervention to improve prognosis posthospitalization for ACS or equivocal symptoms,” wrote first author Keith M. Diaz, PhD, a physiologist with Columbia University Department of Medicine, and colleagues. “To mitigate risk in this population, our results suggest that replacing sedentary time with sleep, light-intensity physical activity or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is associated with a lower cardiac event/mortality risk. These findings support the public health message that patients should sit less and move or sleep more to improve prognosis.”
Stroke survivors benefit from being more active
In another recent analysis, researchers tracked nearly 1,500 stroke survivors from the United States for a median follow-up period of 5.2 years. The mean age at baseline was 64.6 years old, and 55% of the stroke survivors were women. During that follow-up period, 494 deaths occurred, including 171 from cardiovascular causes.
The study’s findings were published in Stroke.[2] Overall, stroke survivors who were the most active—as determined by patient survey answers—were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who were the least active.
“Sedentary behavior is common among stroke survivors due to balance and coordination impairments, increased fatigue, and reduced confidence in mobilizing,” wrote first author Chuanchuan Yu, MSc, a researcher with Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues. “Our findings align with previous evidence indicating a significant association between sitting time and all-cause mortality.”
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.