Each additional 500 steps taken daily by older adults is associated with a 14% lower risk of heart disease, stroke or heart failure, a new study has found.
Investigators analyzed health data for 452 participants who used accelerometer devices to measure their daily steps. The average participant age was 78. Study subjects wore the devices for three or more days, for ten or more hours, with an average step count about 3,500 steps each day.
Over 3.5 years of follow-up, 7.5% of the participants experienced an adverse cardiovascular event, according to Erin Dooley, PhD, of the University of Alabama, and colleagues.
More benefits from walking
Not only did a modest increase in daily step count lower the risk of cardiovascular events, but the study also found key differences in outcomes when comparing seniors who walked significantly more or less each day. Those who took 4,500 steps per day, for example, were 77% less likely to experience cardiovascular events than those who logged about 2,000 a day. And nearly 12% of study participants with less than 2,000 steps per day experienced an adverse cardiovascular event, when compared to 3.5% of the participants in the 4,500 steps group.
Investigators said they were surprised to find that each additional quarter of a mile (500 steps) of walking was linked to such noteworthy benefits for cardiovascular health.
“While we do not want to diminish the importance of higher intensity physical activity, encouraging small increases in the number of daily steps also has significant cardiovascular benefits,” Dooley said. “If you are an older adult over the age of 70, start with trying to get 500 more steps per day,” she concluded.
The research will be presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2023.
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