A new study shows that exercise can provide the same benefits that medications are giving to patients with heart disease.
It is a given fact that exercise is beneficial in improving the health of the public but those with heart diseases are often asked to consult their doctors first before creating their routine. The new study suggests that these patients should start working out as exercise can be a possible option together with their medication.
Huseyin Naci, lead author of the study from the London School of Economics and Harvard University in the U.K, and his colleagues reviewed about 305 trials involving 340,000 patients pre-diagnosed with heart disease, stroke, heart failure and pre-diabetes. The researchers compared the effectiveness of seven exercise interventions to 12 drugs by measuring the mortality rate of the group.
Their overall findings revealed that there are no significant differences on the mortality of the patients exercising and those taking pills. However, stroke patients showed more improvement when they exercise but those who had heart failure benefited more on pills than exercise.
The researchers suggest that doctors should be including exercise in their prescriptions. They also clarified that patients should not rely solely on exercising and should still take their prescriptions. Exercise and pills should go together to maximize the benefits.
"Medicines are an extremely important part of the treatment of many heart conditions and people on prescribed drugs should keep taking their vital meds. If you have a heart condition or have been told you're at high risk of heart disease, talk to your doctor about the role that exercise can play in your treatment," senior cardiac nurse Amy Thompson from the British Heart Foundation told BBC as a reminder to patients.
The study was published in the Oct. 1 issue of the British Medical Journal.
