Longer, slower walks most beneficial for heart health

Thurday May 28, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- In its current issue, the American Heart Association’s online journal, Circulation, is reporting on a study that reveals that cardiac patients in rehab units benefit the most from longer, slower walks, rather than shorter, brisker ones.

Dr. Philip Ades, director of the study and professor of medicine at the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine, explains that historically, physicians have remained pessimistic about weight loss among cardiac rehab patients because they were not required to burn enough calories to actually make that happen. Many of the programs offered bike and rowing programs, which certainly have benefit. But Dr. Ades suggests that walking is more effective when it comes to burning calories and fat, because to do it, you have to support your full body weight at all times.

Seventy-four CAD patients participated in the study and were randomly assigned to either a standard rehab program, which burned 700-800 calories per week in three exercise sessions, or a program that required them to walk for 45-60 minutes, 5-6 days per week. The calorie burn for the walkers was 3000-5000 per week.

Dr. Ades and his team discovered that the walkers lost 18 pounds, as opposed to only 8 lost in the “standard” group. They also had improved cardiac function and greater fat loss, and an overall improvement in insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

In 2000, Circulation reported on a survey taken by the American Heart Association regarding CAD patients who not only walked, but who lifted weights as well. Weight training, it was discovered, decreased blood pressure and increased glucose metabolism, if it was kept up 2 or three days per week.

The caveat is that the patients who improved the most with the weight training program integrated their routine with an aerobics regimen. In fact, Circulation recommended patients focus on aerobics only for the first four weeks of their new, heart-healthy lifestyle.

(By Rachel Stockton, and edited by Heather Kelley)