A study found that daily walking can reduce the risk of stroke by a third.
Researchers followed hundreds of thousands of people to see how much of it was caused by atrial fibrillation — an abnormal heart rhythm that’s a major cause of stroke.
When adults took at least 110 steps a day—roughly seven times the equivalent of walking up the stairs at home—their risk of developing a life-threatening condition decreased by 31 percent.
The findings, published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, prompt researchers to promote stair climbing as a simple and effective way to prevent stroke.
At least two million people in the UK suffer from atrial fibrillation, a heart attack caused by high blood pressure, chest infections, an overactive thyroid and also too much caffeine or Alcohol.
The electrical activity in the heart goes haywire and causes it to beat irregularly. One in 25 people over 60 will be diagnosed.
Some will have symptoms such as chest pain, dizziness and fatigue, but a significant number of people do not know they have a stroke until they experience it.
When the heart can’t beat normally, with irregular electrical activity, blood begins to shunt around the body and pool in the left ventricle – the heart’s main pumping chamber.
When blood clots travel up through the narrowed blood vessels that feed the brain, they can cut off oxygen-rich blood to the brain, causing a fatal stroke.
Studies have shown that people who take at least 110 steps a day – roughly the equivalent of walking up the stairs of a standard home seven times – are 31 percent less likely to have a life-threatening condition.
If a clot breaks off and enters the narrowed arteries that feed the brain, it can cut off oxygen-rich blood to the brain and cause death.
Atrial fibrillation causes around 16,000 strokes a year in the UK, according to the Arrhythmia Alliance.
Experts at Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China, analyzed data on the use and general health of nearly half a million Britons in a long-term health project called the UK Biobank.
All of them did not have any heart problems when they joined the study and were followed for 12 years to see who became ill.
The results showed that those who took at least 110 steps each day were significantly less likely to develop atrial fibrillation than those who did not take steps.
Previous studies have shown that climbing can help maintain heart health and improve memory and concentration.
The researchers report: ‘Our findings suggest that promoting normal stairwelling may be an important target for the prevention of atrial fibrillation.’
