Want A Healthy Heart? Take That Exercise Up A Notch

By Lisa Suhay

While 10,000 steps a day is still a good minimum for a healthy heart, a new review by Old Dominion University of a number of existing studies concludes that more vigorous exercise provides more benefit. Thus, 5,000 steps taken at a run will deliver more than double the benefit in half the distance.

According to the review, which was published in the American Journal of Cardiology in January, “Vigorous intensity exercise has been shown to more effectively increase aerobic fitness than moderate intensity exercise, suggesting that the former may confer greater cardioprotective benefits.”

Ever since the U.S. Surgeon General’s recommendation that we all get 30 minutes of exercise daily, the common goal has been to get sedentary people to do anything at all. So the message that we should take 10,000 steps for a healthy heart is all people talked about, says David Swain, ODU professor of exercise science. Even more substantial cardioprotective benefit comes from vigorous exercise.

Swain conducted the review with Barry A. Franklin, a past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. Swain was asked by Franklin to partner in the review following the results of his earlier research on measurement of CO2 Reserve, an improved method doctors now use to prescribe cardiovascular and aerobic exercise for maximum safety and benefit to heart patients. Swain’s CO2 Reserve standard was adopted as the national standard by the American College of Sports Medicine in 2000.

“If it’s just weight loss you’re after, this review won’t make much difference to your life,” Swain said. “But if you are serious about cardioprotective fitness and health benefits, you need to be more intense about your exercise.”