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Walking Lower Women Stroke Risk
In April 2010, US researchers published their study about healthy lifestyle and stroke risk, in this case is walking and related to women stroke risk. Women who walked two or more hours a week or who usually walked at a brisk pace (3 miles per hour or faster) had a significantly lower risk of stroke than women who didn't walk, according to a large, long-term study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
This study is a long term observational study with a nearly 12-year follow-up, women who walked two or more hours per week had a significantly lower risk of stroke than women who didn’t walk. Also reported that women who walked at a brisk pace also had a significantly lower risk of stroke than non-walkers.
The risks were lower for total stroke, clot-related (ischemic) stroke and bleeding (hemorrhagic) stroke, researchers said.
Results of the study
Women who usually walked at a brisk pace had a 37 percent lower risk of any type of stroke, about 68% lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke and about 25% lower risk of ischemic stroke compared to non-walked group.
For those who walked two or more hours a week had a 30 percent lower risk of any type of stroke, if we separate the kind of the stroke, we could find that this group of women had a 57 percent lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke, and had about 21% lower risk of ischemic stroke compared to non-walked group— both “borderline significant,” according to researchers.
“Physical activity, including regular walking, is an important modifiable behavior for stroke prevention,” said Jacob R. Sattelmair, M.Sc., lead author and doctoral candidate in epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Mass. “Physical activity is essential to promoting cardiovascular health and reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, and walking is one way of achieving physical activity.”
More physically active people generally have a lower risk of stroke than the least active, with more-active persons having a 25 percent to 30 percent lower risk for all strokes, according to previous studies. Women who were most active in their leisure time activities (doing exercise) were 17 percent less likely to have any type of stroke compared to the least-active women.
“Though the exact relationship among different types of physical activity and different stroke subtypes remains unclear, the results of this specific study indicate that walking, in particular, is associated with lower risk of stroke,” Sattelmair said.
In this study about 39,315 U.S. female health professionals (average age 54, predominantly white) participated in the Women’s Health Study. Every two to three years, participants reported their leisure-time physical activity during the past year — specifically time spent walking or hiking, jogging, running, biking, doing aerobic exercise/aerobic dance, using exercise machines, playing tennis/squash/racquetball, swimming, doing yoga and stretching/toning. No household, occupational activity or sedentary behaviors were assessed. They also reported their usual walking pace as no walking, casual (about 2 mph), normal (2–2.9 mph), brisk (3–3.9 mph) or very brisk (4 mph).
About the walking pace
It can be assessed objectively or subjectively in terms of the level of exertion, using a heart rate monitor, self-perceived exertion, “or a crude estimate such as the ‘talk test’ – when you are in a brisk pace, you should be able to talk but not able to sing. If you cannot talk, slow down a bit. If you can sing, walk a bit faster. The talk test is really subjective tools of assessing walking pace,
but it is simple, easy and inexpensive tools.
Since, Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of serious disability in the United States and some developed nations, so it’s important to do prevention of the stroke by identifying the risk factors and the protective factors. Avoiding the risk factors and implementing the protective ones perhaps protects you from stroke event.
This inverse association between physical activity and stroke risk is consistent among the women, but for men is rather inconsistent association.
Perhaps, difference in others lifestyle in men, such alcoholic drinking, smoking, and maybe hormonal role may play role in those inconsistency.
More men are smokers compare to women, thus impairs vessel wall. Besides that, estrogen also a potent protective factor for fatty or cholesterol deposition in vessel wall or vessel degeneration.
Regardless inconsistency data in men, physical activity is a good way for maintaining our health and to prevent degenerative or lifestyle related disease.
Walking only 2-3 hours in a week, isn't it simple? But, will you try it?
The risks were lower for total stroke, clot-related (ischemic) stroke and bleeding (hemorrhagic) stroke, researchers said.
Results of the study
Women who usually walked at a brisk pace had a 37 percent lower risk of any type of stroke, about 68% lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke and about 25% lower risk of ischemic stroke compared to non-walked group.
For those who walked two or more hours a week had a 30 percent lower risk of any type of stroke, if we separate the kind of the stroke, we could find that this group of women had a 57 percent lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke, and had about 21% lower risk of ischemic stroke compared to non-walked group— both “borderline significant,” according to researchers.
“Physical activity, including regular walking, is an important modifiable behavior for stroke prevention,” said Jacob R. Sattelmair, M.Sc., lead author and doctoral candidate in epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Mass. “Physical activity is essential to promoting cardiovascular health and reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, and walking is one way of achieving physical activity.”
More physically active people generally have a lower risk of stroke than the least active, with more-active persons having a 25 percent to 30 percent lower risk for all strokes, according to previous studies. Women who were most active in their leisure time activities (doing exercise) were 17 percent less likely to have any type of stroke compared to the least-active women.
“Though the exact relationship among different types of physical activity and different stroke subtypes remains unclear, the results of this specific study indicate that walking, in particular, is associated with lower risk of stroke,” Sattelmair said.
In this study about 39,315 U.S. female health professionals (average age 54, predominantly white) participated in the Women’s Health Study. Every two to three years, participants reported their leisure-time physical activity during the past year — specifically time spent walking or hiking, jogging, running, biking, doing aerobic exercise/aerobic dance, using exercise machines, playing tennis/squash/racquetball, swimming, doing yoga and stretching/toning. No household, occupational activity or sedentary behaviors were assessed. They also reported their usual walking pace as no walking, casual (about 2 mph), normal (2–2.9 mph), brisk (3–3.9 mph) or very brisk (4 mph).
About the walking pace
It can be assessed objectively or subjectively in terms of the level of exertion, using a heart rate monitor, self-perceived exertion, “or a crude estimate such as the ‘talk test’ – when you are in a brisk pace, you should be able to talk but not able to sing. If you cannot talk, slow down a bit. If you can sing, walk a bit faster. The talk test is really subjective tools of assessing walking pace,
but it is simple, easy and inexpensive tools.
Since, Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of serious disability in the United States and some developed nations, so it’s important to do prevention of the stroke by identifying the risk factors and the protective factors. Avoiding the risk factors and implementing the protective ones perhaps protects you from stroke event.
This inverse association between physical activity and stroke risk is consistent among the women, but for men is rather inconsistent association.
Perhaps, difference in others lifestyle in men, such alcoholic drinking, smoking, and maybe hormonal role may play role in those inconsistency.
More men are smokers compare to women, thus impairs vessel wall. Besides that, estrogen also a potent protective factor for fatty or cholesterol deposition in vessel wall or vessel degeneration.
Regardless inconsistency data in men, physical activity is a good way for maintaining our health and to prevent degenerative or lifestyle related disease.
Walking only 2-3 hours in a week, isn't it simple? But, will you try it?
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