Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of illness and death globally. To prevent it, or slow its progress, major health organizations like the World Health Organization, the American Heart Association, and the European Society of Cardiology all recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week for adults. But these recommendations are one-size-fits-all,even though evidence shows men and women differ in their ability to be physically active. And, crucially, we haven’t fully understood how this difference impacts heart disease risk.

Dr. Jiajin Chen and a team from the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Xiamen, China, dug into data from the UK Biobank – a massive medical database in Britain. They used data from wrist-worn activity trackers on over 85,000 peopel to examine how physical activity relates to heart disease risk in men and women. They found that 48.46% of participants without heart disease met the recommended activity levels. However, this number was significantly lower for women.

The study revealed a key difference: women needed more physical activity than men to achieve the same level of heart health protection.Specifically, women experienced a reduced risk of coronary heart disease with approximately 300 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity per week, while men saw similar benefits with around 150 minutes. This suggests current guidelines may underestimate the exercise needed for optimal heart health in women.

Researchers also discovered that the association between physical activity and coronary heart disease was stronger in women than in men. This means that for each additional minute of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity, women experienced a greater reduction in heart disease risk compared to men. This isn’t to say exercise isn’t beneficial for men – it absolutely is – but the impact appears to be more pronounced in women.

Why this difference? Several factors coudl be at play. Hormonal differences, variations in heart structure and function, and societal factors influencing physical activity levels all likely contribute. It’s a complex interplay, and more research is needed to fully unravel the mechanisms.

This study doesn’t mean women should feel discouraged. It means we need to rethink how we approach exercise recommendations. Personalized guidelines,taking gender into account,could be a significant step towards reducing the burden of heart disease. For women, aiming for closer to 300 minutes of weekly exercise may be a more effective strategy for protecting their heart health. Don’t just meet the minimum; consider what your body truly needs.

source: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.063433