Reference News Network reported on April 20 that according to a report from CNN's website on April 17, the latest research indicates that brisk walking can reduce the risk of arrhythmia.

This is the conclusion of a new large-scale study published in the journal "Heart" on the 15th. The study found that compared with slow walking, moderate and fast walking can respectively reduce the risks of various arrhythmias by 35% and 43%.

Arrhythmia refers to atrial fibrillation, chronic arrhythmia, and ventricular arrhythmia. Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of arrhythmia, characterized by irregular and rapid heartbeats starting in the upper chambers or atria of the heart. Chronic arrhythmia refers to abnormally slow heart rate, usually below 60 beats per minute, while the normal range is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Ventricular arrhythmia occurs when the lower chambers or ventricles of the heart beat too quickly.

Dr. Jill Pell, professor of public health at the University of Glasgow and senior author of the study, said in an email: "The advantage of walking is that everyone can do it. You don't need to spend money on a gym or fitness equipment. You just need to step outside and keep moving."

According to a 2024 study, nearly 60 million people worldwide suffer from atrial fibrillation. Dr. Pell said that the number of patients with other types of arrhythmia cannot be determined, but overall, arrhythmia patients have a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and premature death.

Dr. Pell said that only one previous study had been conducted on the relationship between walking speed and arrhythmia, and it focused only on one type of arrhythmia. Previous studies suggested that "walking speed is associated with cardiovascular diseases, so we wanted to know if there was also a connection with arrhythmia."

The authors studied the health and activity data of adult participants recruited in the UK Biobank study from 2006 to 2010. This study tracked the health of more than 500,000 people aged 40 to 69 in the UK. Participants filled out questionnaires and categorized their walking speed as slow (below 4.8 km/h), moderate (4.8 to 6.4 km/h), or fast (above 6.4 km/h).

During an average follow-up period of 13 years, 9% of participants developed arrhythmia.

Dr. Pell said: "We have over 420,000 reports of walking speed data and nearly 82,000 acceleration measurement data. The data shows that walking at a moderate pace (4.8 to 6.4 km/h) for 5 to 15 minutes a day is sufficient to reduce the risk."

The authors found that this association was most pronounced in people under 60, those without obesity, those with hypertension, or those with two or more medical histories, as well as women.

Dr. Pell said: "Although women are less likely to develop atrial fibrillation than men, women with atrial fibrillation have a higher risk of developing heart disease and stroke than men with atrial fibrillation."

Dr. Martha Gulati, director of preventive cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and a cardiologist who did not participate in the study, believed that this study confirmed earlier related research she and others had conducted, which showed that physical exercise benefits atrial fibrillation, and this association was more pronounced in women. She added: "This suggests that one of the main methods of preventing arrhythmia is brisk walking."

The authors of the study said this is an observational study, and therefore cannot prove causality.

Sean Heffron, director of nutrition at the Cardiovascular Health Program at NYU's Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center, added: "Slow or ventricular arrhythmias are non-specific, so there may be many other causes. Compared to atrial fibrillation, they are much less associated with lifestyle factors."

Dr. Pell said that more than one-third of the benefits of brisk walking come from its ability to "lower cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure, making it less likely to gain weight," and these reductions will also lower the risk of arrhythmia.

Although brisk walking seems better than slow walking, "as long as you take the first step, it's progress," Dr. Gulati said. "Slow walking is just the beginning; the more you walk, the faster your pace will become." (Translated by Wen Yi)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7495312473260556840/

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