- Heart rhythm abnormalities, or irregular heartbeats, are thought to affect up to 5% of the population.
- They are more common in those over age 65 and people with a family history of the condition.
- Maintaining a healthy weight, doing regular exercise, and lowering blood pressure can all help decrease the risk of developing a heart rhythm abnormality.
- Now, a study has found that people who walk at a brisk pace, even for only a few minutes a day, have up to a 43% reduced risk of heart arrhythmias.
Exercise benefits heart health. According to the
But you do not have to spend hours in the gym to help keep your heart Healthy. Brisk walking for only a few minutes each day could be enough to greatly reduce your risk of some heart conditions.
A new study, led by researchers at the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, has found that walking at a brisk pace (more than 4 miles per hour) can reduce the risk of heart rhythm abnormalities, or cardiac arrhythmias, by as much as 43%.
The study, published in Heart, suggests that brisk walking could be a safe and effective way to reduce heart rhythm abnormalities, particularly in those at higher risk of developing them.
“This is the largest study that has shown physical activity lowers the risk of arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation and importantly also shows that the quality of the exercise is even more important. These findings give us more ammunition to help us counsel our patients to regularly exercise and exercise at a good pace to help them decrease their risk of cardiovascular disease including arrhythmias.”
– Paul Drury, MD, board certified cardiologist and associate medical director of electrophysiology at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, who was not involved in the study.
Heart rhythm abnormalities, or irregular heartbeats, affect
Although not all arrhythmias are serious, they may indicate an increased risk of potentially fatal heart problems, such as stroke, heart failure, or cardiac arrest.
A person’s
- Age — arrhythmias are more common in older adults.
- Family history and genetics
- Obesity
- Smoking, illegal drug use, and excess alcohol consumption
- Certain antibiotics and over-the-counter cold and allergy medications
- Other health conditions of the heart, kidneys, and lungs.
However, the risk can be reduced by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, choosing
Being physically active is a large part of maintaining a healthy heart, and this new study shows that simply upping your walking pace could be an effective way to reduce your risk of an abnormal heart rhythm.
The study included men and women with a mean age of 55.8 years from the UK Biobank. The researchers accessed self-reported data for 420,925 people, and accelerometer (smart watch) data, which measured time spent walking at different paces, for 80,773 of those.
They recorded the incidence of all cardiac arrhythmias, and of some specific types — atrial fibrillation, bradyarrhythmias (slow, irregular heartbeat), and ventricular arrhythmias.
For self-reported walking pace, slow was less than 3 miles per hour (mph), steady/average was 3-4mph, and brisk was greater than 4mph.
Of the group, 27,877 (6.6%) were slow walkers, 171,384 (52.7%) average, and 171,384 (40.7%) brisk walkers.
The researchers followed up the group for a median of 13.7 years, during which 36,574 (8.7%) participants developed some form of cardiac arrhythmia.
After adjusting for factors that might increase risk, such as age, sex, alcohol use, deprivation, ethnicity, and long-term health conditions, they found that those with an average or brisk walking pace had a significantly lower risk — 35% for average, and 43% for brisk — of developing cardiac arrhythmias than those who walked more slowly.
As well as the self-reported data, the researchers collected accelerometer data for 80,773 people. Over the 7.9-year median follow-up period, 4,117 (5.1%) of these people developed arrhythmias.
Those who spent more time walking briskly tended to be younger, male, have overall healthier lifestyles, lower BMI, and be less deprived, all factors that may reduce the risk of arrhythmias.
Even after adjusting for these factors, the researchers found that spending more time walking at an average pace was associated with a 27% lower risk of cardiac arrhythmias, and an 18% lower risk for walking at a brisk pace. Time spent walking at a slower pace was not associated with an increased risk.
“The data from the watches showed that you only needed to spend 5-15 mins each day walking at average pace to derive benefit. This should be achievable for most people. The study also showed that the benefits of walking a little faster were over and above the benefits of spending less time sedentary.”
— Prof. Jill Pell, Henry Mechan Professor of Public Health, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, corresponding author on the study.
Although this was an observational study, so it cannot prove a causal link, it adds to evidence from previous studies that faster walking pace may
Pell told Medical News Today how brisk walking might benefit heart health:
“We showed that over one-third of the beneficial effect of walking pace was due to the fact that walking faster reduces cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure and makes you less likely to put on weight. It also reduced inflammation in the body. These are all things that help to reduce your risk of heart rate abnormalities.”
Benefits were most significant in women, individuals without obesity, people ages under 60 years, and those with pre-existing long-term conditions.
Brisk walking is a low cost, moderate-intensity aerobic activity with a low risk of injury. Just 10 minutes of brisk walking each day can have health benefits, and it is an easy way to increase your physical activity.
Drury advised:
“In general, living a healthy lifestyle will help reduce the risk of developing heart rhythm abnormalities. This includes eating well, regular exercise and treating any underlying medical conditions that would predispose a patient to developing a rhythm abnormality (sleep apnea, obesity, diabetes, or hypertension).”
“Regular walking with focus on maintaining a fast pace now appears to be one other lifestyle change that will help reduce this risk,” he added.
“The great thing about walking is that it is accessible to everyone. You don’t need to spend money going to a gym or buying equipment. You can just walk out of your front door and keep going.”
— Prof. Jill Pell
