Why Exercise Is Essential for Preventing Disease. Q & A With a Heart Expert

Rachel Stoelk, MD, wants you to get moving. Modern sedentary lifestyles are impacting people's health, and exercise, she says, will keep you healthier and happier.

"Overall, our bodies are made to be moving," she says.

As a cardiac care physician, Stoelk says she enjoys helping people know how to take care of their cardiac health.

"Heart health is so central to life, and it's really rewarding to be able to help patients understand and better take care of their hearts," she says.

Stoelk recently discussed the dangerous effects of a sedentary lifestyle, things people can do to get more exercise, and how to keep active.

Why has there been a focus on movement over the last couple of decades?

This wasn't a huge deal a hundred years ago because no one had a sedentary lifestyle. But now with more people having a sedentary lifestyle, we're seeing its negative effects. Now we're having to actively implement steps to be more active and prioritizing exercise. We're seeing the effects of not being active.

How much should we be moving?

Overall, the more you do, the better it is. There's not a certain number of minutes that's the magic number, but I talk to patients about it. I say, "Okay, let's start where you're at, and let's take one step forward to increase that." I'm more focused on where the patient is and how I can help them get a little more active.

There was a phrase that came about approximately 15 years ago that suggests "sitting is the new smoking." What are your thoughts about that phrase?

There was some backlash against that. I don't feel that sitting down can be equated to smoking cigarettes. Smoking is still the number one cause of preventable death. But that discussion did highlight the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle and the diseases it causes, so a lot of good has come out of that discussion.

How is a sedentary lifestyle affecting people?

Sedentary behavior is associated with high blood pressure, sleep apnea, obesity, and diabetes. They're all significantly reduced by exercise or even increasing one's amount of movement. Research continues to find evidence that exercise reduces the rate of cardiovascular death and heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancers. Exercise is one of those things that any study they do, they find a benefit, it seems. A large review shows physically active people have roughly a 35% lower risk of cardiovascular death and a 33% lower risk of dying from any cause over 20 years.

What can people do to start getting more active?

Most of the time I suggest that people can start walking or walking more often. Even if it's beginning to walk 5 or 10 minutes a day. Or if they have access to a gym, start going, even if it's only to get in the door and do something, anything, there. Just start somewhere. But again, my most common advice is to start walking.

What about people who may have a disability?

I recently had a patient who was not very mobile, so I talked about movement with her and helped her think of some fun options for more movement. She decided she was going to start turning on music and try to move with the music. Moving her arms to it, even starting to try to dance to it in the way that she could.

How can people keep up a commitment to movement?

It's always helpful if you can find a way of exercising in community. There's somebody else to support you - a friendor a family member. Some of my patients find it more helpful to sign up for a class, or for a 5k, or an event that helps keep them motivated.

What about patients who are recovering from heart procedures? How long should they wait to exercise?

In the cardiac world, there are a lot of studies on cardiac rehabilitation and the benefits of being active even after a heart attack or heart surgery. For people who are even just a day out of heart surgery, there's so much benefit for them by being out of bed and carefully moving and doing controlled physical therapy right away. It's really cool to see those patients out of bed and walking around the Intensive Care Unit each morning, those who are able. They're going to recover better because they're moving around.

What's the most important thing you want people to know?

I think exercise is as important as any medicine I could prescribe for my patients.

Loma Linda University Health has been ranked #1 in the region for Cardiology & Heart Surgery by U.S. News & World Report. To learn more about resources offered to cardiac patients, visit lluh.org/heart-vascular or call 800-468-5432.