A new study finds that postmenopausal women who reported faster walking speeds had a lower risk of developing heart failure. The study is published in the ‘Journal of the American Geriatrics Society’. There were 1,455 heart failure hospitalizations during a mean follow-up of 16.9 years among 25,183 women aged 50–79 years. Compared with women who walked at a leisurely pace, the risk of heart failure was 27 percent and 34 percent lower in women who walked at an average pace or at a brisk pace, respectively. Walking briskly for less than 1 hour per week was associated with a reduction in heart failure risk as was walking more than 2 hours per week on average or incidentally. “This study confirms other studies demonstrating the importance of walking speed on mortality and other cardiovascular outcomes,” said senior author Charles B. Eaton, MD, MS, of Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School. “Given that limited time for exercise is often given as an obstacle to regular physical activity, brisk walking but for a shorter period of time may provide similar health benefits as 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity.” is recommended,” he said.
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