People who only find time to exercise once a week – who are being dubbed weekend warriors – can still reap significant health benefits, including for their cardiovascular system.

New research reveals that anyone who fits their exercise into just one or two days per week had a 40 per cent lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease than those who were inactive, which compares to a 41 per cent reduction in risk among those who spread their exercise sessions throughout the week.

This study is significant in its size and length – researchers from the University of Leicester, Loughborough University, University College London and the University of Sydney studied data collected between 1994 and 2012 from a survey of around 64,000 adults over the age of 40 in Scotland and England.

However, the NHS cautioned that there may be other factors at play that were not identified by the research.

According to the NHS, the recommended physical activity for adults is 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, as well as strengthening exercises on two or more days of the week.

But for those who struggle to fit exercise into their daily lives, it’s good to know that still being active on the weekend has its benefits.

At the beginning of January, we highlighted some top tips for improving your heart health – which included exercise – as well as eating more fruits and vegetables, and cutting out sugary drinks from your diet.

It is also worth familiarising yourself on how to use an emergency defibrillator, situation where you need to assist someone who has suffered a heart attack, and with the growing number of public-access defibrillators in the UK, you will hopefully have access to this life-saving piece of equipment if you are ever in this kind of scenario.