Exercise After Menopause Cuts Risk of Heart Problems – Study

A recent study released in the United States has showed that women who exercise regularly after menopause reduce their risk of heart problems.

The Professional Association of German Internists (BDI) said on Tuesday in Munich that even walking briskly for more than 10 minutes daily helps the heart.

BDI said this has become imperative because heart problems affecting older women include atrial fibrillation (AF), a common type of irregular heartbeat.

The institute said in a report that Stanford University School of Medicine in California monitored 81,000 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 79.

It said it found that it was important for older women to be active, particularly those with an added risk factor for heart problems, such as being overweight.

BDI said the women in the study who walked briskly for a half-hour at least six times a week or rode a bicycle for an hour twice a week were 10 per cent less likely to develop AF than inactive women.

It said women who exercised more moderately, mostly those that walked briskly for a half-hour twice a week, for example – cut their AF risk by 6 percent.

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