Walk fast for better health of heart

Washington: Faster walking patients with heart disease are hospitalised less, a recent study has found. The three- year University of Ferrara study was conducted in 1,078 hypertensive patients, of whom 85% also had coronary heart disease and 15% also had valve disease. Patients were then asked to walk 1 km on a treadmill at what they considered to be a moderate intensity. Patients were classified as slow ( 2.6 km/ hour), intermediate ( 3.9 km/ hour) and fast ( average 5.1 km/ hour). A total of 359 patients were slow walkers, 362 were intermediate and 357 were fast walkers. The researchers recorded the number of all- cause hospitalisations and length of stay over the next three years. Participants were flagged by the regional Health Service Registry of the Emilia- Romagna Region, which collects data on hospitalisation. During the three year period, 182 of the slow walkers ( 51%) had at least one hospitalisation, compared to 160 ( 44%) of the intermediate walkers, and 110 ( 31%) of the fast walkers. The slow, intermediate and fast walking groups spent a total of 4,186, 2,240, and 990 days in hospital over the three years, respectively. The average length of hospital stay for each patient was 23, 14, and 9 days for the slow, intermediate and fast walkers, respectively. Each 1 km/ hour increase in walking speed resulted in a 19% reduction in the likelihood of being hospitalised during the three- year period. Compared to the slow walkers, fast walkers had a 37% lower likelihood of hospitalisation in three years. Merlo said: “The faster the walking speed, the lower the risk of hospitalisation and the shorter the length of hospital stay. Since reduced walking speed is a marker of limited mobility, which has been linked to decreased physical activity, we assume that fast walkers in the study are also fast walkers in real life.” She continued: “Walking is the most popular type of exercise in adults. It is free, does not require special training.” — ANI