Too Much Exercise can Lead to Heart Problems; Study Finds

Exercise is good; it helps people stay in shape and improves blood circulation. However, too much physical activity can be a bad thing, especially for people with existing heart condition, a new study from Germany finds.

A related study also found that five hours or more of endurance exercise can lead to irregular heart rhythm later in life. The second study was conducted on a group of young men in Sweden.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people get two hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate intensity physical activity every week along with muscle strengthening exercise for two or more days.

The present research shows that excess exercising can lead to health complication or worsen existing problems.

The first study was conducted on 1,000 people with stable coronary artery heart disease for about a decade. Researchers looked at the health and levels of exercise undertaken by these participants.

Researchers found that people who didn't exercise had two times higher risk of dying early due to heart attack or stroke than those who had moderate levels of physical activity. This result was kind of obvious. However, the next part of the study was surprising; people who exercised were twice as likely to die of heart attack or stroke.

The second study was based on data from 44,000 men aged between 45-79 years. These men were asked about their physical activity levels at the ages of 15, 30, 50 and the past year. The average age of participants was 60 years.

Participants' health was monitored for 12 years to see if they developed irregular heartbeat or atrial fibrillation.

The team found that people undergoing strenuous endurance exercise had 19 percent higher risk of developing the condition by 60 years of age than men who exercised for around an hour a day, according to a news release.

"The benefits of exercise are definitely not to be questioned; on the contrary, they should be reinforced. The studies reviewed here, and future studies, will serve to maximise benefits obtained by regular exercise while preventing undesirable effects-just like all other drugs and therapies," they concluded.

The study is published in the journal Heart.