Patients should start exercise a week after heart attack

Researchers, led by Mark Haykowsky and Alex Clark at the University of Alberta, have carried out the study and found that early and prolonged exercise is the key to the best health outcomes for stable patients. They came to the conclusion after reviewing more than20 years of trials.

In fact, the researchers found that stable patients who have suffered a cardiac arrest improve their heart performance when starting a light exercise programme just one week after the heart attack, rather than waiting a month or longer to begin rehabilitation.

"While it`s been shown that exercise has a favourable effect on heart function, it`s also important to dispel the idea that what the heart needs is rest," British newspaper the `Daily Mail` quoted Dr Haykowsky as saying.

The study shows that, in fact, the heart will become better with exercise sooner and with continued exercise over a longer period of time.