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Regular Walking Aids Older Arteries
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April 22, 2002 -- Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of older women.
But walking -- simply walking -- can make a big difference in reducing
that risk, according to a study presented at this week's Experimental
Biology 2002 meeting.
As people get older, large arteries lose their elasticity and
get stiff, causing high blood pressure and enlarging the heart.
Both are serious risk factors for heart disease. After menopause,
women are at especially high risk.
But the study showed that a bit of walking -- not even brisk walking,
just at a moderate pace --- can transform stiffening arteries into
more pliable ones, like younger women have.
The 12-week study involved a group of 14 women, all about age
60, who didn't exercise but were otherwise healthy. At the end of
the study, they all had nearly 50% improvement in elasticity of
arteries.
The exercise schedule: the women walked just five days a week
for 40 to 45 minutes.
"What pleased us most was the size of the change relative
to the simplicity of the exercise involved, and the short time required
to see a marked improvement in elasticity," says lead author
Kerrie Moreau, PhD, with the University of Colorado Human Cardiovascular
Research Laboratory in Boulder.
An earlier study by this team found similar benefits in healthy
middle-aged and older men.
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