Walking faster, lawn-mowing, gardening can reduce risk of heart attacks and stroke by 50% in older adults
Ageing tends to reduce people's ability to perform vigorous activities, preventing older adults to enjoy an active lifestyle and making them prone to heart attacks and stroke. However, a new study says that simply walking faster and longer can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 50 percent for people older than 75, according to a press release from Tufts University.
The study analysed of daily activities of 4,207 American adults at the age of 73, and the participants were followed for 10 years. The findings revealed that walking faster than three miles per hour (mph) significantly reduced the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) by 50 percent in both men and women, above or below 75 years old. The risk of stroke was also reduced by 53 percent.
In addition, walking at an average of seven blocks every day reduced the risk of CHD by 36 percent, stroke by 54 percent and CVD by 47 percent.
Researchers also found that simply doing activities, such as lawn-mowing, raking, gardening, swimming, biking and hiking, can lower the risk of the conditions. Those who did not engage in such activities were found to have higher risk for CHD, stroke and CVD.
The participants were part of the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). The information from the CHS database involves the adults’ physical activities like walking, leisure-time activities and exercise intensity.
"Our study of older Americans shows that, even late in life, moderate physical activity such as walking is linked to lower incidence of cardiovascular disease," Luisa Soares-Miranda, study author and a postdoctoral student at the University of Porto in Portugal, said in the press release. "It appears that whether one increases the total distance or the pace of walking, CVD risk is lowered. Fortunately, walking is an activity that many older adults can enjoy."
The study shows the importance of having light to moderate exercise to improve health across one's lifespan, according to senior author, Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. “These results are especially relevant because, with advancing age, the ability to perform vigorous types of activity often decreases.”
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