Excessive TV watching can give you a heart attack

Too much TV can give you a heart attack

A new report reiterates previous findings that too much TV time can hike your risk of a heart attack and shorten your life span. The study, which appeared January 18 on the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, showed that spending four hours each day in front of the TV, computer, or video game can double you risk of a heart attack, heart failure or stroke.

"Our research suggests that screen time and perhaps sitting in general can be very detrimental for overall and cardiovascular health," said lead author Emmanuel Stamatakis, a senior research associate at the  University College London. He suggested that leisure time be spent less sitting and involve more movement as much as possible.

The researchers examined the medical records of 4,512 adults who participated in the 2003 Scottish Health Survey which included data on how people spent their leisure time. After more than 4 years, 325 of the group died while 215 had a cardiovascular event, the findings showed.

The study team took into account other factors like high blood pressure, smoking and exercise, and still the risk was the same for the participants. "Importantly, participation in exercise did not seem to mitigate against the harms associated with excessive screen times," Stamatakis said.

Health experts urge people to minimize the time they spend sitting down and do something physical instead. They note that many people work in front of computers and when they do take a break, they choose to sit down more by watching TV or play games instead of moving about.

Posted by George Daniels on Tuesday January 11 2011, 1:47 AM EDT. Ref: Health Day. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0