Walk quicker, save your ticker

Seniors who walk briskly, are active in their free time, drink moderately, don’t smoke, and avoid obesity may be half as likely to develop heart failure as people who don’t engage in these healthy habits, a new study suggests.

Optimizing a few healthy lifestyle factors can cut heart risk in half, according to lead author Liana Del Gobbo, of Tufts University.

“A key finding is that physical activity among older adults does not have to be strenuous to reduce heartfailure risk,” she said.

“We saw benefits for adults who walked at moderate or brisk pace ( more than 2 or 3 mph) and burned calories through leisure activity, like house or yard work, walking, engaging in outdoor activities, or other forms of physical activity, equivalent to about 30 minutes per day of moderateintensity activity,” she said.

David Maron, of Stanford, said, “The amazing thing from this study is, if you do these . . . behaviors, you can reduce your risk of heart failure by 50 percent.”

He cautioned, though, “It’s just an association, and doesn’t prove cause and effect.”