Key clinical point: More time spent sitting or lying down was associated with significantly increased risk of heart failure in older women.

Major finding: The hazard ratio for heart failure increased as study participants spent more time sitting down; for women in the most active tertile the HR was 1.00 versus 1.42 for women in the least active tertile.

Study details: The data come from 80,982 women aged 50-79 years enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study with no known heart failure at baseline.

Disclosures: The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.