Take a step forward for better heart health, says a pair of studies

If you are sitting, the discoveries of two major new studies led by researchers at the University of Buffalo will impress you.

Women who met the federal physical activity guidelines of 30 minutes a day for moderate activity with walking alone had a significantly lower risk of developing hypertension, according to a paper published in the November issue of the American Heart Association Journal. .. High blood pressure..

The study also reports it Female People who did not achieve the recommended level of walking but walked at speeds of 2 mph (30 mph) or more had a reduced risk of high blood pressure.

More than 80,000 other studies Postmenopausal women 5o to 79 years old, released today circulation: heart Failures report increased risk when they spend more time on sedentary behaviors while awake, such as sitting on the couch or lying down. heart failure Hospitalized.

In fact, women who sat or lay down for more than 9.5 hours a day had a 42% increased risk of developing heart failure in the nine years after first assessing sedentary time in women’s health initiative observational studies. .. This finding was clear even after considering physical activity levels and risk factors for heart failure such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and heart attack.

In summary, the two treatises send a powerful message. “Sit down and walk more for heart health,” said Dr. Michael La Monte, associate professor of epidemiological research at UB’s School of Public Health and Health. La Monte was the first author of Circulation: Heart failure The study published today and High blood pressure paper.

Both treatises relied on data collected over time from participants in the Women’s Health Initiative.

“WHI participants provided information on the importance of walking, regular activity, and avoidance of sedentary time in the prevention of both hypertension and heart failure,” co-authors of both studies. One Dr. Jean Wactawksi-Wende said. Dean of UB Public Health and Health College. “Walking and moving are simple activities that can be easily integrated into our daily lives.”

Risk of walking and high blood pressure

Research in the journal High blood pressure Active walking of 150 minutes or more per week (identified as 30-minute miles) was found to be associated with a reduced risk of hypertension in older women.

“Our work is increasing evidence that you don’t necessarily have to be an avid jogger or cyclist to get health benefits from physical activity,” he worked on while earning a master’s degree in a hypertension treatise. The first author of Connor Miller said Epidemiology at UB.

“Just taking regular walks can have a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, in this case blood pressure. This is because walking is an accessible activity for all age groups. It’s especially important for older people, “Miller added. Currently an epidemiologist at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Few studies have evaluated hypertension in connection with gait, a common physical activity in adults. Miller and his colleagues investigated the association between gait and the incidence of hypertension in 83,435 postmenopausal women aged 50-79 years with no known hypertension, heart failure, coronary heart disease, or stroke. Reported the ability to walk at least one block. assistance.

During an average of 11 years of follow-up, 38,230 hypertensive cases were identified. After managing socio-demographic, lifestyle, and clinical factors, researchers found significantly lower hypertension risk of 11% and 21% in postmenopausal women reporting the highest gait and speed. I observed.

Walking speed is significantly associated with a reduced risk of hypertension even after adjusting walking time, suggesting that walking faster may outweigh the benefits of blood pressure over volume or duration. ..

“Simply put, take a step and go fast,” Miller said.

The researchers also note that women who walked slower than 2 mph had a significantly higher risk of hypertension, 5% to 8%, compared to non-pedestrians. Miller points out that this slow gait speed is associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease in a previous WHI study.

Further studies confirming the group’s findings could establish a randomized clinical trial to assess gait for primary prevention of hypertension in adults, Miller said.

“If patients recommend ways to change lifestyle factors, clinicians use this study to use this study for cardiovascular health, even with relatively small behavioral changes (in this case, going for regular walks). You can emphasize that it is a step in the right direction for the mirror.

And for those who think blood pressure levels seem to indicate that there’s nothing they can do, Miller has a message. “Our study says this is not the case. Even among women who initially had blood pressure levels close to the high blood pressure threshold, gait and speed were still associated with a low risk of developing the disease. Was High blood pressure later”

Kathleen Hovey, a data manager / statistician at UB’s Faculty of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, was also a co-author of this treatise.

Sit-down time and heart failure

Few studies have examined sedentary time and the risk of heart failure, both Sit-down behavior Heart failure is common, says Lamonte Circulation: Heart failure A study he led. This is a follow-up to a 2018 paper that first showed an association between increased physical activity and a reduced risk of heart failure.

During an average follow-up of 9 years, 1,402 women were hospitalized for heart failure. Compared to women who reported that they spent less than 6.5 hours a day sitting or lying down, the risk of hospitalization for heart failure was:

• It is 15% higher for women who report spending 6.6 to 9.5 hours each day sitting or lying down.
• It is 42% higher for women who report spending more than 9.5 hours a day sitting or lying down.

Compared to women who reported sitting less than 4.5 hours a day, the risk of hospitalization for heart failure was:

• It is 14% higher for women who sit between 4.6 and 8.5 hours daily.
• It is 54% higher for women who sit for more than 8.5 hours a day.

Researchers found that women who tend to sit for more than 9.5 hours a day are at a 42% increased risk of developing heart failure, even after considering several factors such as age, race, and use of menopausal hormone therapy. did. To further explain the heart attack, which is the main cause of heart failure, they tend to sit longer, but the longer they sit, the greater the risk of heart failure continues to increase.

“Even among women who reported recreational physical activity levels that met current guidelines, women who reported more than 9.5 hours of sedentary activity per day were at increased risk of heart failure,” La Monte said. “This latter finding indicates the need to not only promote more physical activity to prevent heart failure, but also to promote sedentary time interruptions throughout the day.”

The team will soon get the results of another WHI study using accelerometers. It just stands up to divide the sedentary time Low risk Of cardiovascular disease.

Sit-down behavior promotes a reduction in the risk factor profile of cardiac metabolism, increasing the likelihood of developing and developing arterial atherosclerosis and blood clots, LaMonte explains. These are precursors to angina and heart attacks, the main consequence of which is heart failure.Sit-down time also reduces the pumping effect of the heart, which is a major clinical symptom. heart Failure.

“whether Time to sit down It remains unclear whether it directly reduces the pumping effect of the heart or exacerbates the effects of other causes. Observational studies like ours cannot solve the problems of these complex mechanisms, “says La Monte.