Cardiovascular disease linked to lower physical activity 12 years before onset

Medical Xpress / JAMA Cardiology ^ | July 28, 2025 | Justin Jackson / Yariv Gerber et al

[ConservativeMind]

A team of investigators report that adults who later develop cardiovascular disease show declining physical activity levels beginning roughly 12 years before their event, with the gap versus their healthy peers persisting long afterward.

Scientists analyzed data from 3,068 participants in CARDIA, a prospective study initiated in 1985–1986 with up to 10 physical activity assessments through 2020–2022.

Participants were followed in four US cities with a median follow-up of 34.0 years.

Physical activity decreased steadily from young adulthood into middle age, then stabilized in later years across the full cohort. Black men had a more sustained decline, while Black women consistently reported the lowest activity throughout adulthood.

White men showed initial decline followed by stabilization and slight recovery, while white women began with lower activity than men but showed notable recovery beginning in midlife.

Analysis of 236 incident cardiovascular disease cases matched 1:1 to control participants revealed striking patterns around heart events. Activity levels in case participants began declining approximately 12 years before cardiovascular disease diagnosis, with accelerated declines within two years of the event.

After diagnosis, all three groups remained at similarly low physical‑activity levels (<300 exercise units), and the post‑event trajectory differences between disease types were not statistically significant (P = 0.90).

Adjusting for pre-cardiovascular disease activity levels, cases were more likely than controls to exhibit low activity post-cardiovascular disease (odds ratio, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.26–2.50).

Black women faced the highest risk of low post-cardiovascular disease activity (odds ratio, 4.52; 95% CI, 2.29–8.89), while white men showed no significant increased risk (odds ratio, 0.92).

Researchers conclude that physical activity declines from early adulthood to midlife then stabilizes, with notable demographic differences. Cases experienced steep declines before cardiovascular disease events, supporting a link between physical activity and disease outcomes.

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TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS:

[ConservativeMind]

We hurt ourselves much earlier and more thoroughly than we have understood, by not doing occasional vigorous exercise.

[ConservativeMind]

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[KittyKares]

Is the cardiovascular harm caused by lack of exercise, or is the lack of energy to exercise caused by developing cardiovascular problems?

[Does so]

I got a stent 12 years after retiring...

[Bobbyvotes]

Daily brisk walk with 1lb wrist weights for 23-25 minutes is my daily exercise. No health issues at age 85. Scary part is the age number, when I see younger people having physical & mental decline. For example Joe Biden, 3 years younger than me.

[yldstrk]

Yeah yeah and then there are the football players who go into cardiac arrest on the field, or the guys who run 5 miles a day who go into cardiac arrest and croak at dinner....

[God luvs America]

i work out every day- 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day...hard training; running & swimming 3 days a week, running & lifting 3 days a week, 5 mile run on Sunday....(i also trained for the Olympic Decathlon for 10 years almost 50 years ago)

I probably push it to much (will be 62YO next month) and there are mornings i am drained and feel little energy to get out there but push through it...

They say the time of day you feel tired, which means your metabolism is slow, is the best time to train. I am not a morning person and always lifted, etc in the afternoon but now workout exclusively in the AM.

[God luvs America]

Those are few and far between and more times than not hereditary conditions.

I run every day and workout hard and i never got the covid vax. We were going on a cruise back in 20222 which required the vax. I went for an Igg test which tested to see if you had the covid anti-bodies. My numbers were off the charts and the physician at the clinic said, “your vax is working perfectly!!” When i told her i had not taken the vax she said “something is wrong- come in and we’ll give you the test again.”

I told her about my workout routine, vitamins i was taking, etc. She said, “that explains it- you’re one of the handful of people i’ve come across who have not taken the vax but you’re producing full antibodies.”

I told her about our cruise and the vax requirement and said, “I’m not concerned about dying of covid. I’m more concerned about taking the vax, going out on a 7 mile run and dropping dead of a heart attack midway through!!”

She said, “Mr GLA- i’m not your doctor, but there’s no reason for you to take this vaccine”

I got a fake vax card and went on the cruise....lots of people on that cruise left with covid- not me!!!