Get Sweat Up, Says Doctor

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32077, 27 August 1969, Page 14

Get Sweat Up, Says Doctor

“Get a sweat up several times a week through hard physical exercise,” is the advice doctors offer to men who want to lessen the risk of an acute heart attack.

Dr W. J. Smith, of Christchurch, in an interview arranged by the National Heart Foundation, said toat the exercise should increase the heart rate, breathlessness, sweating, and fatigue. He recommended that toe exercise should last 10 minutes a day, or 20 to 30 minutes every second or third day. Men derived little benefit by walking around a golf course if they considered toat to be the total contribu-

tion to their exercise programme.

Dt Smith said that brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, squash, badminton and tennis were ideal forms of exercise.

A game would always have more appeal and be less of a chore than exercise by other means even if it was harder to fit into a busy life. “The daily routine should be organised to include more physical activity by walking where possible,” he said. Middle Age

Physical activity carried on through middle age. was more important than in earlier Bfe.

“We cannot store up the benefits from earlier physical activity, but carrying it on has other advantages in toat

we are unlikely to become over-weight, smoke heavily or drink to excess," he said. “At present we can say that physical activity as a preventive approach to heart disease is widely accepted as being probably beneficial, and we are now in the research stage where we must prove or disprove the efficacy of this approach. “If physical inactivity is an important risk factor its importance will increase as in economically developed countries heavy work is rapidly becoming an anachronism and sedentary habits toe rule.” After Attack

Dr Smith said that exercise after coronary attacks had been shown to improve toe efficiency; of toe heart,

and it promoted improvement in toe coronary circulation as well as improving ; general muscular fitness. Most patients who recovered from coronary attacks could return to tiieir former occupations and some of , them to moderately heavy ' work.

“It will be apparent that in toe field of coronary heart disease alone there is tremendous scope for the Heart Foundation in sponsoring more research and public education,” he said. "There is one proven risk factor which theoretically should be so easy to elim-inate—-cigarette smoking. To stop smoking should be so much easier than running around the block every night.”