Exercise Often as Effective as Medication in Treating Heart Disease

Exercise can be equally if not more effective at treating heart disease than medication, a study published in the British Medical Journal found.

Conducted by researchers from the London School of Economics and Harvard and Stanford universities, the report examined hundreds of trials involving nearly 340,000 patients.

Throughout the study, the scientists found no detectable difference between exercise and drugs for those with coronary heart disease or prediabetes. The only exception was that of diuretics, also known as water pills, which the researchers found were more effective at treating heart failure than physical activity.

For those recovering from stroke, however, exercise outperformed medication.

The results point to a "blind spot" in medical research, according to the scientists.

"Our findings reflect the bias against testing exercise interventions and highlight the changing landscape of medical research, which seems to increasingly favor drug interventions over strategies to modify lifestyle," they write.

This is important given the failure of many to meet recommended amounts of physical activity even as drug prescription rates continue to rise.

According to the study, roughly one third of adults living in England meet the recommended levels of exercise, whereas prescription drug use has risen in from 11 percent in 2000 to nearly 18 percent in 2010.

While the researchers do not recommend patients go off their drugs, they warn that the current "lopsided nature of modern medical research may fail to detect the most effective treatment for a given condition if that treatment is not a prescription drug."

Dr. Peter Coleman of the Stroke Association told the BBC that the pairing of exercise and drug use deserves deeper examination.

"We would like to see more research into the long-term benefits of exercise for stroke patients," he said. "By taking important steps, such as regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and stopping smoking, people can significantly reduce their risk of stroke. Moderate physical activity, for example, can reduce the risk of stroke by up to [27 percent]."