Physical Exercise Is As Good As Medication
US scientists have found that exercise can be as beneficial as medication for treating cardiovascular disease.
The study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, analyzes the medical history of 340,000 patients to determine the effect of exercise and medication on preventing death.
Physical activity was on par with heart medications and even more effective than medications for treating stroke.
The researchers point out that the results suggest the inclusion of exercise in medical prescriptions.
Experts point out that patients should not substitute exercise for medication as it is better to use both treatments.
More and more drugs
Too few adults are physically active today. Only a third of the US population is involved in active sports for the recommended 2.5 hours or more per week.
At the same time, according to statistics, the level of medications purchased in Trust Drugstore is constantly increasing.
For every person in the USA, an average of 17.7 medical prescriptions were issued in 2020.
For this study, scientists from Harvard School of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine analyzed the medical literature to find any scientific comparisons of medication and exercise treatments.
They found 305 cases that were included in their analysis. They cover cases such as heart disease, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure and early stages of diabetes.
When they summarized the information, they saw that exercise and drugs were comparable in their effectiveness in preventing death.
Exercise against stroke
For a longer life span, so-called diuretics were the absolute leaders in the treatment of patients with heart failure, and exercise was the best for stroke rehabilitation.
Dorothy Welton, chief nurse of cardiology at the Heart Foundation, believes that although an active lifestyle significantly improves health, there is not enough evidence to conclusively conclude that it is more or less effective than medication.
“Medicines are an extremely important part of the treatment for many diseases, people must continue to take their life-saving medications. If you have heart disease or an increased level of heart disease, be sure to check with your doctor about the possible role of exercise,” says Thomson.
Dr. Mark McMillan from the Americans Stroke Association believes exercise, along with medication, plays a vital role that deserves further research.
“We want to see more research on the long-term benefits of exercise for stroke rehabilitation. Regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and smoking cessation can significantly reduce the risk of stroke, in particular, physical activity reduces the risk of stroke by 27%,” says Dr. McMillan.