Slow walking speed signals future hospitalizations for heart patients
Heart disease patients who are slow walkers are at a higher risk of hospitalization than their speedier counterparts, according to research presented April 20 at EuroPrevent 2018.
The study included 1,078 hypertensive patients, including 85 percent who also had coronary artery disease. Participants were asked to walk one kilometer on a treadmill at what they considered to be a moderate pace, and then were categorized into three equal-sized groups based on their speed.
Over the next three years, 51 percent of slow walkers had at least one hospitalization compared to 44 percent of intermediate walkers and 31 percent of fast walkers. And when slow walkers were admitted to the hospital, they tended to stay longer—averaging 23 days per visit versus 14 and nine for intermediate and fast walkers, respectively.
“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,” study coauthor Carlotta Merlo, a researcher at the University of Ferrara in Italy, said in a press release.
“Even short, but regular, walks have substantial health benefits. Our study shows that the benefits are even greater when the pace of walking is increased.”
The researchers found each 1 km/hour increase in walking speed was associated with a 19 percent reduction in the odds of hospitalization over the three-year period.
Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.