PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND CORONARY HEART DISEASE .I. AND .2.

1. 1. The more active men in most study data are less subject to coronary heart disease, even less to myocardial infarction, and much less to sudden death. The data refer to both occupational and nonoccupational physical activity. These relationships, however, are of associated phenomena and not necessarily causally related. 2. 2. The data on angina are enigmatic, but angina represented only 18 per cent, at most, of the total manifestations of coronary heart disease in these studies. 3. 3. The major influence of physical activity appears to relate to myocardial infarcts, scars and fibrous patches, less to coronary occlusion and least to coronary atherosclerosis. 4. 4. The intensity and duration of physical activity does not differ greatly among groups with significantly different manifestations of coronary heart disease. It appears that the amount of physical activity engaged in by the more active groups would be acceptable to many presently sedentary citizens. One might be able to increase the intensity and shorten the duration and obtain the same suggested benefit in an individually acceptable preventive regimen. 5. 5. More work is needed to prove the effectiveness of the suggested preventive approach through increased habitual physical activity, to refine prescriptions of activity for patients and to enhance motivation for long-term physical activity programs. 6. 6. Quite apart from the important need to acquire more data on the ability of increased habitual physical activity to prevent coronary heart disease, I wish to mention the growing acceptance of physical conditioning and reconditioning as a means to help overcome the anxiety and depression that occurs with coronary disease-and even without its manifestations-among many persons of middle age. In conclusion, I submit that it is prudent to include increased habitual physical activity in a program to prevent or manage nonacute coronary heart disease. © 1969.