Routine workouts result in lower health costs for heart patients, says study
Posted on: 10/Sep/2016 10:44:44 AM
A new study has said that routine workouts are associated with significantly lower health costs for heart disease patients. The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, says that patients with heart disease who did moderate to vigorous physical activity for 30 minutes at least five times a week saved an average of more than $2,500 in annual healthcare costs. It was conducted by researchers at the Center for Healthcare Advancement and Outcomes at Baptist Health South Florida.
According to the researchers, The financial benefits with regular exercise were notable across the entire spectrum of risk including those with and without known cardiovascular disease. Even though getting 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week is associated with fewer complications and deaths from heart disease, roughly two-thirds of heart disease patients still fail to get this much physical activity.
This is probably due to averted hospitalizations and emergency department visits, which can be quite costly. The research suggests that if just 20 percent of patients with cardiovascular disease who are not getting enough physical activity would meet exercise goals, it might save up to $6 billion a year in health care costs. Limitations of the study include its reliance on self-reported physical activity data, which may not be accurate. People in the study with high blood pressure weren`t classified as cardiovascular disease patients, which may have led to an underestimate of the number of people with the disease and the potential financial benefits of exercise.
