Older adults who walk slowly are three times more likely to die of heart disease than those who walk at a faster pace, a new study reports. Although the reasons for this link aren't entirely clear, the researchers suggest doctors regularly test older patients' walking speed for an early indication of heart and circulation problems.
At a basic level, how fast we walk reflects our general fitness and ease of movement. But some researchers think it could convey considerably more, particularly for older adults. Research already shows that healthy older people who walk slowly are at higher risk of falls, disability, admission to hospital, and other health issues.
To gain more understanding, researchers followed a group of older adults in France for five years. They looked at whether people who walked slowly were more likely to die during the study, and of what causes.
The study included 3,208 healthy people ages 65 to 85. At the start of the study, each person's walking speed was recorded as they walked 6 metres. The researchers then followed up with participants every couple of years to check on their health. After five years, 209 people had died, including 99 from cancer, 59 from heart disease, and 51 from other causes such as infections and respiratory failure.
The slowest walkers were four times more likely to have died during the study than those who walked more quickly. When researchers looked at causes of death, they found that slow walkers were three times more likely to have died of heart disease than their peers. Interestingly, they didn't find a link between slow walking and other causes of death, including cancers.
The researchers made sure that no one in the study had a condition that could have substantially affected how fast they walked, such as Parkinson's disease or dementia. And to further test their findings, they factored in other things that can influence walking speed or risk of heart disease, such as age, weight, blood pressure, smoking history, and level of physical activity. Even with these adjustments, they found that people who walked slowly still had a notably higher risk of dying from heart disease.
The researchers can't fully explain these findings, but they do point to research suggesting that a person's movement and motor skills might be affected by thickening of the arteries, which can also cause heart disease.
This is the first large study to explore the causes of deaths linked to slow walking, and its findings should be fairly reliable. However, it's not yet clear why people who walk slowly may be at higher risk of dying from heart disease.
The study was done by researchers with universities in France and was published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal), which is owned by the British Medical Association. The study was funded by several French research foundations.
This type of study is more helpful for doctors than individual patients. Based on these findings, the researchers suggest that doctors routinely check walking speed among older patients, as this might help them spot people at risk of heart disease early on. However, this would be just one test among many that a doctor would use to assess a patient's risk.
What should I do now?
If you become winded quickly when you walk or have other symptoms that you feel slow your walking speed, be sure to tell your doctor. These could be signs of a medical condition.
And if you are worried about your heart health, there are many steps you can take to improve your outlook, such as keeping to a healthy weight, not drinking too much alcohol, and taking regular exercise.
From:
Dumurgier J, Elbaz A, Ducimetiere P, et al. Slow walking speed and cardiovascular death in well functioning older adults: prospective cohort study. BMJ. Published online 10 November 2009.
source: guardian
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