摘要：

As with many aspects of cardiovascular disease prevention and intervention, the topic of physical activity for women has not been studied as thoroughly as for men. The full impact of levels of physical activity on disease outcomes, risk factors, and death rate is not definitively established for women, and it is not completely determined for men. Much information, however, is available about health benefits from physical activity derived from information obtained from men, and to some degree from women, to establish the lack of physical activity as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and to permit the development of guidelines for the intensity and duration of physical activity for all individuals. The terms used in a discussion of the indications for and benefits of being physically active are similar but not interchangeable. It is useful to consider the distinctions in the nomenclature applied in the literature and in this article. Caspersen and colleagues 12 define physical activity as "any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure." Exercise is a component of physical activity that can be defined as "planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement done to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness." Physical fitness is "a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity." Physical activity and exercise are the topics of interest for the first part of this article, although some information regarding physical fitness is examined. The evidence supporting the health benefits of participation in exercise or physical activities is presented and highlighted when it addresses women in particular. Recommendations for activity levels for the population in general and for sedentary older women are provided. The second portion of this article evaluates the evidence supporting the potential benefits women might obtain from participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program. Some of the areas that pose problems for women participating in rehabilitation programs are identified, and suggestions for program modifications to accommodate the differences in needs and desires of potential female participants are provided.

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