Too Much Exercise Risks Men's Heart Health

You may want to be careful about how much you exercise. Scientists have found that overdosing on high intensity exercise may actually increase the risk of death from a heart attack or stroke in those with existing heart disease.

Two studies actually show the same result-too much exercise may not be healthy for you. In one of the studies, the researchers tracked the frequency and intensity of physical activity and the survival of more than 1,000 people with stable coronary artery heart disease for 10 years.

Current guidelines state that heart disease patients should do up to an hour of moderate intensity aerobic activity at least five times a week. Around 40 percent were physically active 2 to 4 times weekly, and 30 percent did more while 30 percent did less.

After taking other factors into account, the researchers found that those who did the most strenuous daily exercise were also more than twice as likely to die of a heart attack or stroke. That said, excercising is still better than doing nothing. Those who were most physically inactive were around twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke, and were around four times as likely to die of cardiovascular and all other causes.

In the second study, the researchers examined more than 44,000 men between the ages of 45 and 79 and asked them about their leisure time and physical activity patterns at the ages of 15, 30 and 50 in addition to the past year. Their heart health was tracked for an average of 12 years. In the end, the scientists found that men who had exercised intensively for more than five hours a week were 19 percent more likely to have developed an irregular heartbeat by the age of 60 than those exercising for less than one hour a week.

"The benefits of exercise are definitely not to be questioned; on the contrary, they should be reinforced," write the Spanish authors in a news release. "The studies reviewed here, and future studies, will serve to maximize benefits obtained by regular exercise while preventing undesirable effects-just like all other drugs and therapies."

The findings reveal that strenuous exercise may not be the best. Like anything, exercise should be done in moderation. A moderate amount of exercise may help you keep your heart healthy.

The findings are published in three articles in Heart, located here, here and here.