Purpose: Due to unhealthy lifestyles, there has been an increase in the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and a reduction in its age of onset. Given the high cost of diagnosis and treatment of CAD, there is an urgent need to teach people strategies helpful in changing their lifestyles as this can help reduce the risk factors of the disease. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between physical activity and some risk factors in patients with clinical suspicion of coronary atherosclerosis based on angiography findings.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 92 patients with suspicion of CAD were examined. Interviews, patient medical history, and angiography reports were used to collect data. In addition, the International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ) was used to determine the level of physical activity of the patients; this questionnaire has items in the following categories: job-related activity, patient transportation, housework, and recreation.
Results: The study results indicated 6% increase in the chance of having CAD for each one-year increase in age. Patients who smoked cigarettes were about four times more likely to have coronary atherosclerosis than non-smokers. Among all participants, 34.7% had low physical activity, 43.47% had moderate physical activity, and 21.73% had high physical activity. There was also a negative relationship between the level of physical activity and severity of CAD.
Conclusion: Among the effective factors for heart diseases, older age and smoking had the highest correlations with CAD. We recommend that regular exercise and cutting down on cigarettes may reduce the chance of having CAD.