New Study Targets Steps Per Day for Reducing Risk of Heart Failure

The research is clear: activity benefits our bodies as we age. But how much physical activity is useful to persons over 60? A new study from the University of Buffalo offers a solution, and it isn't 10,000 steps per day.

A study of nearly 6,000 U.S. women aged 63 to 99 published on February 21 in JAMA Cardiology found that taking 3,600 steps per day at a regular pace was related to a 26% lower chance of developing heart failure.

The Women's Health Initiative conducted observational research that specifically examined accelerometer-measured physical activity, sedentary time, and heart failure risk. During a 7.5-year average follow-up, 407 cases of heart failure were detected, with physician confirmation.

On average, the risk of developing heart failure was 12% and 16% reduced for every 70 minutes per day spent in mild-intensity activities and 30 minutes per day spent in moderate-to-vigorous intensity, respectively. On the contrary, every hour and a half of sedentary time was associated with a 17% increased chance of developing heart failure.

"In ambulatory older women, higher amounts of usual daily light and moderate intensity activities were associated with lower risk of developing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction independent of demographic and clinical factors associated with heart failure risk," says the study's lead author Michael J. LaMonte, PhD, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health in UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions. "Accumulating 3,000 steps per day might be a reasonable target that would be consistent with the amount of daily activity performed by women in this study."

Participants in the study wore an accelerometer on their hip for up to seven days, except while they were in the water. Light physical activity includes typical everyday tasks such as self-care, housework, and childcare, whereas moderate to strenuous activity includes walking at a normal pace, climbing stairs, or doing yard work.

The study is unique in that it examined two forms of heart failure, the most frequent of which is heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, sometimes known as HFpEF. For HFpEF, a similar pattern was observed: lower risk with greater light and moderate intensity daily activity, and increased risk with prolonged inactive time.

"This is a major, unique finding of our study because there is very little published data on physical activity and HFpEF, so we are providing new information upon which other studies can build," LaMonte says.

"More importantly, HFpEF is the most common form of heart failure seen in older women and among racial and ethnic minority groups, and at present, there are few established treatment options, which makes primary prevention all the more relevant for HFpEF. The potential for light-intensity activities of daily life to contribute to the prevention of HFpEF in older women is an exciting and promising result for future studies to evaluate in other groups, including older men," LaMonte adds.

The team's evaluation of the number of steps per day as an approach to quantifying and translating the favorable results for physical activity was also novel, says LaMonte.

Encouraging older adults to be more active as part of healthy aging is sound advice well-supported by scientific evidence.

"However, conveying how much activity is always a challenge to incorporate as part of clinical and public health recommendations," says LaMonte. "Steps per day is easily understood and can be measured by a variety of consumer-level wearable devices to help people monitor their physical activity levels."

The study's findings come as the US government is reviewing its physical activity guidelines for older persons, including a target number of steps per day. The steps per day associated with lower heart failure risk stated in the study are significantly lower than the commonly suggested 10,000 steps for health and well-being.

For reference, the average number of steps taken per day by women in the research was 3,588. The average for similar-aged women in the United States is 2,340.

"It appeared that intensity of stepping did not influence the lower risk of heart failure as results were comparable for light intensity steps and for more vigorous steps," says LaMonte.

"Our results showing heart failure prevention in older women might be enhanced through walking around 3,000 steps or so per day at usual pace is very relevant given the current emphasis at the federal level on identifying an amount of daily physical activity that can be referenced against steps per day for cardiovascular health and resilience to incorporate in future public health guidelines." 

Summary:

In ambulatory women ages 63-99 years, higher amounts of usual daily light and moderate intensity activities were associated with lower risk of developing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction independent of demographic and clinical factors associated with heart failure risk. Accumulating 3,000 steps per day might be a reasonable target that would be consistent with the amount of daily activity performed by women in this study.

Source: University of Buffalo

Researchers from the University of California San Diego, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Stanford University, and Brown University contributed to the study.

University at Buffalo. "New study suggests target steps per day for reduced risk of heart failure." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 February 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/02/240221160327.htm>.

WNCTimes

Image Credit: WNCTimes