Older people who walk slowly are almost three times more likely to die of heart disease and related causes than older people who walk faster.
Older people who walk slowly are almost three times more likely to die of heart disease and related causes than older people who walk faster.
Slow walking can be caused by problems in a number of body systems - bones, muscles, lungs or the brain. Some of these are linked by blood vessel problems, and by smoking.
Previous studies have linked slow walking speed with higher risk of death as well as with falls and poor health, but they haven't shown whether it was heart disease or another cause that accounted for the higher risk. Therefore, researchers studied 3,208 French adults, aged 65 to 85 years to find out the relation between slow walking speed and the risk of death in older people both overall and with regard to the main causes of death. The walking speed of each participant was recorded as they walked down a corridor as fast as possible without running along with an assessment of their general health. They were followed up again after 5 years.
It was found that death from heart attack, stroke, and related causes was 3 times more common among the slowest one-third of participants than among the participants who walked faster. Though, no connection was found between walking speed and other causes of death, including cancer. However, the increase in death from heart disease was seen in both men and women and was unrelated to the age of the participants or how physically active they were.
Two hundred and nine of the participants died - 99 from cancer, 59 from heart disease, and 53 from infectious diseases and other causes - for an overall death rate of almost 7 percent. The death rate among the slowest-walking one-third participants - men who walked at 3.4 miles per hour or slower and women who walked at about 3 miles per hour or slower - was 44 percent higher than that amongst the two-thirds of participants who walked faster.
The researchers concluded that slow walking speed in older people is strongly associated with a high risk of death due to heart disease, possibly due to the same risk factors that raise heart disease risk (high blood pressure and diabetes) and also cause silent strokes that make it hard to walk fast.
Slow walking can be caused by problems in a number of body systems - bones, muscles, lungs or the brain. Some of these are linked by blood vessel problems, and by smoking.
Previous studies have linked slow walking speed with higher risk of death as well as with falls and poor health, but they haven't shown whether it was heart disease or another cause that accounted for the higher risk. Therefore, researchers studied 3,208 French adults, aged 65 to 85 years to find out the relation between slow walking speed and the risk of death in older people both overall and with regard to the main causes of death. The walking speed of each participant was recorded as they walked down a corridor as fast as possible without running along with an assessment of their general health. They were followed up again after 5 years.
It was found that death from heart attack, stroke, and related causes was 3 times more common among the slowest one-third of participants than among the participants who walked faster. Though, no connection was found between walking speed and other causes of death, including cancer. However, the increase in death from heart disease was seen in both men and women and was unrelated to the age of the participants or how physically active they were.
Two hundred and nine of the participants died - 99 from cancer, 59 from heart disease, and 53 from infectious diseases and other causes - for an overall death rate of almost 7 percent. The death rate among the slowest-walking one-third participants - men who walked at 3.4 miles per hour or slower and women who walked at about 3 miles per hour or slower - was 44 percent higher than that amongst the two-thirds of participants who walked faster.
The researchers concluded that slow walking speed in older people is strongly associated with a high risk of death due to heart disease, possibly due to the same risk factors that raise heart disease risk (high blood pressure and diabetes) and also cause silent strokes that make it hard to walk fast.
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