Guidelines
National Heart Foundation of Australia physical activity recommendations for people with cardiovascular disease
Executive summary
In Australia, insufficient physical activity is second only to tobacco smoking as the modifiable behavioural risk factor most associated with the burden of disease. The significance of physical inactivity can not be underestimated in an environment where cardiovascular disease (CVD) is Australia's leading cause of premature death and disability and where the proportion of adult Australians who are not sufficiently active for health benefit increased from 49% to 54% between 1997 and 2000.2
The importance of including lifestyle management in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease has been well recognised by medical practitioners, non-government organisations and governments. In the primary care setting there are a number of initiatives, policies and infrastructure systems to support general practice to deliver lifestyle interventions. This document addresses a gap in the information for physical activity in the management of people with well-compensated clinically stable CVD.
The purpose of these recommendations is to provide general practitioners and physicians with evidence-based physical activity information for specific, stable cardiovascular conditions. These conditions include coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure, stroke and peripheral vascular disease (PVD). The provision of accurate, safe physical activity advice by doctors to people with CVD, if followed, should improve individual health outcomes. The impact of physical activity on coexisting risk factors such as blood pressure, lipid profile, overweight and obesity, insulin resistance, depression and social isolation in those with CVD is also briefly considered.
The recommendations were developed using an evidence-based consensus approach under the guidance of an expert working group and through a process of national consultation with other major stakeholders. A principal task in this process was to conduct a literature review that focused on key publications since the 1996 US Surgeon General's Report on 'Physical activity and health'.
The document is structured to present evidence of the benefit for physical activity for each diagnostic category, which is followed by evidence-based management recommendations. The recommendations provide a general framework for appropriate practice, subject to the medical practitioner's judgement (or assessment) of each case.
Health professionals directly involved with recommending or monitoring physical activity levels for people with CVD may also find this document to be an invaluable resource.
The highest level of evidence for the recommendations is for CHD and heart failure followed by diabetes, PVD, stroke and other cardiac conditions (e.g. valvular heart disease and implantable cardiac devices).
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National Heart Foundation of Australia physical activity (771KB)
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