To Avoid Stroke, Make Sure Your Exercise is Intense!

Many of us undertake an exercise program that falls short of the necessary intensity – enough to tell us we’ve been working out, but not enough to break a good sweat.  That may not be good enough to forestall a stroke, according to a new study just published in the journal Neurology.

The study involved 3,300 stroke-free people living in Manhattan, New York.  Their average age was 69.  Measures of leisure-time activity were collected at baseline by personal interviews.  The participants were followed for an average of 9 years.

There were 238 ischemic strokes during the study.  Moderate- to heavy-intensity physical activity was associated with a lower risk of stroke – the risk was reduced to 65% of the likelihood for non-exercisers.  The baseline risk of having a stroke in the next 5 years was 4.6% for non-exercisers, 4.3% for participants who exercised at all, and 2.7% for moderate- to heavy-intensity exercisers.  When the sexes were examined separately, the male moderate- to heavy-exercisers were found to 37% less likely, while the women were 92% less likely to have a stroke than non- exercisers.  In other words, the benefits of intense exercise were confined to men.

These results differ from earlier studies, where any exercise was found to confer some protection.  However, if you want to be sure to get the best result, make sure your exercise is intense, even if you are a woman. . .  Moderate-to-heavy exercises include jogging, swimming, or tennis, as opposed to walking, golfing, or bowling.