{"id":565858,"date":"2026-04-05T10:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T10:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/565858\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T10:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T10:54:09","slug":"cardiologist-warns-this-daily-habit-doubles-your-heart-attack-risk-and-most-people-dont-think-twice-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/565858\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiologist warns ‘this daily habit doubles your heart attack risk and most people don’t think twice about it’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A cardiologist is sounding the alarm on a modern epidemic that most people ignore: the act of staying still<\/a>. Dr Sanjay Bhojraj, a California-based specialist with over more than decades of experience in cardiovascular medicine, took to Instagram on April 1 to highlight a daily habit that he said significantly elevates the danger of life-threatening cardiac events. Also read | Cardiologist shares top prevention tips for people in 20s, 30s, 40s to reduce risk of heart attacks and heart disease<\/a><\/p>\n

\"IfIf you are sitting at desk for a long time, make sure to keep yourself active with regular breaks and short walks. (Shutterstock)The danger of ‘sitting for hours’<\/p>\n

“This daily habit doubles your heart attack risk, and most people don’t think twice about it,” Dr Bhojraj shared in a blunt advisory. While many focus on diet or smoking<\/a>, he argued that the lack of physical movement was a primary driver of heart disease in his clinical practice.<\/p>\n

“After 20+ years, I\u2019ve seen it all…and the one habit that shows up every time: people don\u2019t move enough. Sitting for hours slows circulation, raises blood sugar, and increases clot risk. That\u2019s how heart attack and stroke risk climbs,” Dr Bhojraj shared.<\/p>\n

What should you do?<\/p>\n

The cardiologist highlighted that the solution does not necessarily require a gruelling gym regimen, but rather a fundamental shift in how we approach our hourly routine. He advised: \u201cStand up every 30\u201360 minutes<\/a>. Walk. Do a few squats. Move your body daily. It\u2019s truly that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global health data supports the warning<\/p>\n

Dr Bhojraj\u2019s observations are backed by data from the World Health Organisation (WHO). In its 2024 fact sheet<\/a>, the WHO identified physical inactivity as one of the leading risk factors for mortality from non-communicable diseases.<\/p>\n

The WHO reported that adults who do not meet recommended levels of physical activity have a 20 to 30 percent increased risk of death compared to those who are sufficiently active. It added that sedentary behaviour is a direct contributor to hypertension and obesity, both of which are primary ‘gateway’ conditions for cardiovascular failure.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, a study cited by the WHO in 2022 <\/a>highlighted that sedentary lifestyles are responsible for approximately $27 billion in annual direct healthcare costs globally, as physical inactivity leads to a surge in type 2 diabetes and heart disease.<\/p>\n

Medical experts explain that prolonged sitting leads to ‘metabolic slowdown’. When the body remains stationary, the enzymes that break down fats (lipids) in the blood decrease. According to supporting cardiovascular reports, the relationship between sitting and heart health is clear: the modern environment \u2014 designed for desks and couches \u2014 is at odds with human biology. Click here<\/a> to read more.<\/p>\n

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.<\/p>\n

This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A cardiologist is sounding the alarm on a modern epidemic that most people ignore: the act of staying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":565859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[250268,11564,97,1492,200169,114250,48180],"class_list":{"0":"post-565858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-cardiologist-warns-this-daily-habit-doubles-your-heart-attack-risk-most-people-dont-think-twice-about-it","9":"tag-cardiovascular-health","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-heart-disease","12":"tag-physical-inactivity","13":"tag-risk-of-heart-attack","14":"tag-sedentary-lifestyle"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=565858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}