Slower walkers 'more likely to die from heart disease'

Published on Tuesday 10 November 2009 21:31

ELDERLY people who walk slowly are about three times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who walk faster, researchers say.

Walking pace has already been linked to increased hospital admissions and the incidence of falls and disability. Now experts say walking slowly is "strongly associated" with an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke.

In all, 3,208 men and women aged 65-85 took part in the study, published online in the British Medical Journal, over five years.

Experts monitored walking speed using a series of tests, including checking normal walking speed and the maximum speed people could manage without running.

Over the course of the study, 209 people died (99 from cancer, 59 from cardiovascular disease and 51 from other causes).

The authors, from University Pierre and Marie Curie in France, found: "Participants in the lowest third of walking speed had about a threefold increased risk of cardiovascular death. even when factors likely to influence the results were taken into account."