Long, Slow Walks Backed for Heart Patients

Overweight people with heart disease should walk a lot, even if it’s slow, a study suggests. The study included 74 overweight people with coronary artery disease. Half were assigned to a standard cardiac rehabilitation program. They walked, biked or rowed three days a week at a brisk pace. They exercised 25 to 40 minutes each time. Other people in the study were assigned to do slower walks five or six days a week. They walked 45 to 60 minutes at a time. After 5 months, people who took long walks had lost about 18 pounds, compared with 8 for those in the standard program. They also had more improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure and other health measures than the other group. The study was published online by the journal Circulation. HealthDay News wrote about it May 11.