Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Take a Walk in the Name of Heart Health

A person wearing a peach-colored tank top and carrying a black bag over their shoulder walks briskly on a sidewalk lined with tall buildings and trees. They appear to be in an urban residential area on a cloudy day, perhaps taking mindful steps toward better heart health. MyFitnessPal Blog
In This Article

Walking provides a bevy of heart health benefits from lowering blood pressure and cholesterol to reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes. New research shows it could reduce the risk of heart disease, too.

paper presented at the American College of Cardiology annual scientific session last month followed 89,270 participants for 10 years and found that walking at a moderate pace for at least 40 minutes 2–3 times per week was associated with a lower risk of heart failure than their sedentary peers.

Walking helps “decrease the burden over the heart,” explains researcher Dr. Somwail Rasla, MD, a cardiology fellow at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts.  

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”HEX 0073bb” class=”” size=””] The more often walkers laced up their sneakers (and the longer they spent walking) the greater the heart health benefits they experienced. [/perfectpullquote]

While that effect is not unique to post-menopausal women, researchers focused on that specific population because the risk of heart failure increases with age; women between the ages of 75–84 are three times more apt to have heart failure as women ages 65–74.

This was the first study to assess the impact of walking frequency, duration and speed on heart disease among women over age 50.

FREQUENCY, DURATION AND SPEED MATTER

As researchers drilled down the data, they discovered each element of a walking routine had a different impact on heart health: Women who walked at least twice a week lowered their risk of heart failure up to 25% compared with less frequent walkers; those who walked for 40 minutes or more lessened their risk 21–25% over women who took shorter walks and women who walked at an average or fast pace saw their risk of heart failure decline between 26–38% compared with their peers who strolled at a slower pace.


READ MORE > IS IT BETTER TO WALK FOR TIME OR DISTANCE?


Rasla notes that the combination of speed, frequency and duration is the trifecta for lowering heart disease risk, noting that these are the keys to experiencing an overall benefit from an exercise program.

Post-menopausal women aren’t the only ones whose hearts benefit from a brisk walk.

In 2013, researchers examined data from the National Walkers’ Health Study, which included men and women between the ages of 41–73 and found that a moderate-intensity walking workout provided significant heart health benefits, lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and protecting against coronary heart disease. The results were similar to the reductions in risk experienced by runners.

In both studies, the more often walkers laced up their sneakers (and the longer they spent walking) the greater the heart health benefits they experienced.

“A sedentary lifestyle also increases your risk of heart disease,” notes Dr. Nieca Goldberg, medical director for the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at the NYU Langone Medical Center. “Any kind of aerobic exercise you can do to counteract that, including walking, helps offset those risks.”

Rasla calls walking an “easy, feasible and affordable” workout with significant return on investment, noting, “You can’t underestimate its benefit to your heart health.”

About the Authors

Meet the people behind the post

Related articles

More inspiration for you

10 minute read
A step-by-step guide to calculating your caloric needs using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.
9 minute read
Let’s break down the research-backed considerations to help you decide if intermittent fasting is
2 minute read

If you’re in the mood for pumpkin cheesecake and you don’t feel like baking,

7 minute read
How much protein do we actually need? How much protein can our bodies absorb?
In This Article
Recent posts
10 minute read
A step-by-step guide to calculating your caloric needs using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.
9 minute read
Let’s break down the research-backed considerations to help you decide if intermittent fasting is
2 minute read

If you’re in the mood for pumpkin cheesecake and you don’t feel like baking,