Being physically active a few times a week may be all the exercise middle-aged women need to lower their risk of heart disease, a new study finds.

 

Researchers from the UK looked at more than 1.1 million women and followed their medical history for nine years.

They found that women who performed strenuous physical activity - enough to cause sweating or a faster heart beat - two to three times per week were about 20 percent less likely to develop heart disease, strokes, or blood clots compared to participants who reported little or no activity.

 

The researchers also said they were surprised to find that more frequent exercise did not lead to further risk reductions, the researchers said. The physical activities associated with reduced risk included walking, gardening, and cycling.

 

"Inactive middle-aged women should try to do some activity regularly. However, to prevent heart disease, stroke and blood clots, they don't need to do very frequent activity as this seems to provide little additional benefit above that of moderately frequent activity,” said Miranda Armstrong, lead author of the study, which is published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.