Walking At Least One Hour A Week Associated With Lower Heart Disease Rate In Women.

2001 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Walking at least one hour a week, regardless of pace, is associated with a lower rate of coronary heart disease among women, medical researchers say.

I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD, and colleagues from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, examined the relation between physical activity and coronary heart disease (CHD) among healthy women, including those at high risk for CHD (e.g., smokers). Walking was specifically examined because it is the most popular leisure activity among women.

Lee presented the findings at a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)- sponsored media briefing on women's health held in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2001, and also in the March 21 issue of JAMA.

"It is encouraging to observe that vigorous activities were not necessary for lower CHD rates," Lee et al. said.

CHD is the leading cause of death among women in the U.S. Physical inactivity is among the risk factors for this disease. Previous studies have found that physically active women have lower CHD rates than inactive women. However, whether the association differs by intensity of activity or in women at high risk for CHD is unclear.

The authors followed 39,372 healthy women aged 45 and older who enrolled in the Women's Health Study from September 1992 to May 1995, with follow-up to March 1999. The women reported the time they spent each week on recreational activities, including walking and stair climbing. The authors computed energy expended for these activities as kilocalories per week, and measured the correlation of CHD with energy expended on all activities, vigorous activities, and walking.

The women were observed for an average of five years. During that time, 244 confirmed incidents of CHD occurred, including myocardial infarction, death from heart disease, coronary artery bypass surgery, or coronary angioplasty procedures.