Sitting May Increase Heart Attack Risk For Women

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Do you sit most of the day? It is probably not a good idea. You need to get up and around.

According to Harvard scientists, women who sat for 10 or more hours during the day had a greater chance of heart attack or stroke, especially if they were also overweight or over the age of 70.

Compared to very active women who sat for 5 or less hours per day, the sedentary women were at 63% greater risk for heart disease.

There were over 70,000 women in the study, which was designed to review a large number of health and lifestyle issues.