Menu
Back to Journals » International Journal of General Medicine » Volume 5
Cardiovascular benefits of exercise
Authors Agarwal S
Received 22 January 2012
Accepted for publication 15 February 2012
Published 22 June 2012 Volume 2012:5 Pages 541—545
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S30113
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 3
Shashi K Agarwal
Medical Director, Agarwal Health Center, NJ, USA
Abstract: Regular physical activity during leisure time has been shown to be associated with better health outcomes. The American Heart Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine all recommend regular physical activity of moderate intensity for the prevention and complementary treatment of several diseases. The therapeutic role of exercise in maintaining good health and treating diseases is not new. The benefits of physical activity date back to Susruta, a 600 BC physician in India, who prescribed exercise to patients. Hippocrates (460–377 BC) wrote “in order to remain healthy, the entire day should be devoted exclusively to ways and means of increasing one's strength and staying healthy, and the best way to do so is through physical exercise.” Plato (427–347 BC) referred to medicine as a sister art to physical exercise while the noted ancient Greek physician Galen (129–217 AD) penned several essays on aerobic fitness and strengthening muscles. This article briefly reviews the beneficial effects of physical activity on cardiovascular diseases.
Keywords: exercise, cardiovascular disease, lifestyle changes, physical activity, good health
© 2012 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.
By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.