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Faster walking heart patients are hospitalised less

 

Physical Inactivity and Exercise


Ljubljana, Slovenia – 20 April 2018: Faster walking patients with heart disease are hospitalised less, according to research presented today at EuroPrevent 2018, a European Society of Cardiology congress, and published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.1,2

 

The three-year study was conducted in 1,078 hypertensive patients, of whom 85% also had coronary heart disease and 15% also had valve disease.

 

Patients were then asked to walk 1 km on a treadmill at what they considered to be a moderate intensity.3 Patients were classified as slow (2.6 km/hour), intermediate (3.9 km/hour) and fast (average 5.1 km/hour). A total of 359 patients were slow walkers, 362 were intermediate and 357 were fast walkers.

 

The researchers recorded the number of all-cause hospitalisations and length of stay over the next three years. Participants were flagged by the regional Health Service Registry of the Emilia-Romagna Region, which collects data on all-cause hospitalisation.

 

Study author Dr Carlotta Merlo, a researcher at the University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy, said: “We did not exclude any causes of death because walking speed has significant consequences for public health. Reduced walking speed is a marker of limited mobility, which is a precursor of disability, disease, and loss of autonomy.” 4,5

 

During the three year period, 182 of the slow walkers (51%) had at least one hospitalisation, compared to 160 (44%) of the intermediate walkers, and 110 (31%) of the fast walkers.

 

The slow, intermediate and fast walking groups spent a total of 4,186, 2,240, and 990 days in hospital over the three years, respectively.

 

The average length of hospital stay for each patient was 23, 14, and 9 days for the slow, intermediate and fast walkers, respectively (see figure).

 

Each 1 km/hour increase in walking speed resulted in a 19% reduction in the likelihood of being hospitalised during the three-year period. Compared to the slow walkers, fast walkers had a 37% lower likelihood of hospitalisation in three years.

 

Dr Merlo said: “The faster the walking speed, the lower the risk of hospitalisation and the shorter the length of hospital stay. Since reduced walking speed is a marker of limited mobility, which has been linked to decreased physical activity,4 we assume that fast walkers in the study are also fast walkers in real life.”

 

She continued: “Walking is the most popular type of exercise in adults. It is free, does not require special training, and can be done almost anywhere. 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.”

 

Figure: Average length of hospital stay according to walking speed

Chart of hospitalisation time by walking speed

Notes to editor

Authors: ESC Press Office

Tel: +33 (0)4 89 87 24 83

Mob: +33 (0)6 24 71 28 96

Email: press@escardio.org

 

Notes to editor

 

SOURCES OF FUNDING:  This work was supported by the Project FNUSA-ICRC (No. CZ.1.05/1.1.00/02.0123), by project no. LQ1605 from the National Programme of Sustainability II (MEYS CR), by the project ICRC-ERA-Human Bridge (No. 316345), funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union.

 

DISCLOSURES: None.

 

References and notes

1The abstract ‘Normal-weight central obesity and long-term cardiovascular events: a prospective population-based cohort study’ will be presented during the Young investigator award session IV – Prevention, Epidemiology & Population Science (PEP) which takes place on 20 April from 16:30 to 18:00 CEST in room E3.

 

About EuroPrevent

EuroPrevent is the annual congress of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC), a branch of the ESC, where leading experts get together in an international forum to present their research and share knowledge.

 

About the European Association of Preventive Cardiology

The European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) is a branch of the ESC. Its mission is to promote excellence in research, practice, education and policy in cardiovascular health, primary and secondary prevention.

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

 

Information for journalists attending EuroPrevent 2018

EuroPrevent 2018 will be held from 19 to 21 April at Cankarjev dom, Culture and Congress Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia. The full scientific programme is available here

  • To register on-site please bring a valid press card or appropriate letter of assignment with proof of three recent published articles (cardiology or health-related, or referring to a previous ESC Event).
  • Press registration is not available to industry or its public relations representatives, event management, marketing or communications representatives.