Walking further and faster could reduce the risk of heart attacks by almost a fifth – even if you don’t reach the recommended target of 10,000 steps a day, a study has found.
Analysis of more than 36,000 people with high blood pressure revealed walking more reduces the risk of major problems in the heart and blood vessels.
The study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology found that compared to a daily step count of 2,300 steps, every extra 1,000 steps was linked to a 17 per cent reduction in the risk of cardiovascular problems.
This was the case up to a step count of 10,000 – walking more than this was associated with a lower risk of stroke.
It’s estimated that just over a quarter adults in the UK, around 14.4 million people, have high blood pressure, according to the British Heart Foundation.
It increases the risk of heart disease, heart attacks, strokes and heart failure, according to the NHS.
However, study authors say until now it has been unclear how much people with high blood pressure need to increase their physical activity to see a reduction in these risks.
Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, at the University of Sydney, Australia, who supervised the study, said: “We found that, if you live with high blood pressure, the more you walk with greater intensity, the lower your risk for future serious cardiovascular events.
“These findings support the message that any amount of physical activity is beneficial, even below the widely recommended daily target of 10,000 steps.”
Researchers analysed data from 32,192 people with high blood pressure who were part of the UK Biobank study – a cohort study of 500,000 people that collected data on diet, lifestyle, biomarkers, and health.
As part of the study these participants agreed to wear an accelerometer on their wrist for seven consecutive days to measure how far and how fast they walked.
The participants were followed up for eight years and during this time there were 1,935 cases of heart problems of stroke.
After analysing this data researchers discovered for every 1,000 steps a day there was a 17 per cent reduction in overall risk, 22 per cent reduction in heart failure, 9 per cent reduction in risk of heart attack, and 24 per cent reduction in risk of stroke.
Researchers also tracked how fast participants walked a day and recorded their fastest 30 minutes at an average of 80 steps a minute which was associated with a 30 per cent reduced risk of heart problems.
However, it’s not just people with high blood pressure that could benefit. Researchers also found similar results when they looked at 37,350 people without high blood pressure.
Every 1,000-step increase in daily step count led to an average lower risk of overall heart problems (20.2 per cent), heart failure (23.2 per cent), myocardial infarctions (17.9 per cent) and stroke (24.6 per cent).
Professor Stamatakis said: “Clinicians should promote physical activity as standard care, especially in patients with high blood pressure. Our results can inform new, tailored public health recommendations for these patients.”
