Physical activity decreases mortality risk after MI

Patients who increased their level of physical activity during the first year after an MI had a reduced risk for mortality, according to data presented at EuroPrevent.

“Our study shows that this advice applies to all heart attack patients,” Örjan Ekblom, PhD, associate professor at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm, said in a press release.

Researchers analyzed data from 22,227 patients from the RIKS-HIA and SEPHIA registries. Both registries included information on initial and subsequent care for MI, in addition to the two secondary prevention visits at 6 to 12 weeks and 1 year after the MI.

Data on physical activity were collected from the SEPHIA registry during two prevention visits. Patients were asked about the number of physical activity sessions they participated in during the past 7 days. Sessions of interest included those that were 30 minutes or longer. Patients were then categorized as inactive (0-1 sessions) or active (2-7 sessions), in addition to constantly inactive, reduced activity, increased activity or constantly active.

The primary outcome was mortality, which occurred in 1,087 patients during a mean follow-up of 4.2 years.

Mortality rates in patients per 1,000 patient-years were the following:

28.2 in the constantly inactive group;
12.7 in those with reduced activity;
11.4 in the increased activity group; and
7.5 in those who were constantly active;

Compared with patients who were constantly inactive, HRs were 0.45 in patients with reduced activity, 0.39 in those with increased activity and 0.25 in patients who were constantly active. After adjusting for multiple variables, the HRs were 0.63, 0.49 and 0.41, respectively.

“These results have clinical implications, reinforcing the importance of increasing [physical activity] post-MI,” Ekblom and colleagues wrote.

“Exercising twice or more a week should be automatically advocated for heart attack patients in the same way that they receive advice to stop smoking, improve diet and reduce stress,” Ekblom said in the release. – by Darlene Dobkowski

Reference:

Ekblom O, et al. Abstract 11315. Presented at: EuroPrevent; April 19-21, 2018; Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Disclosure: Ekblom reports no relevant financial disclosures.