* CHD causes over 101,000 deaths per year, one in five deaths in men and one in six deaths in women. It causes 20% and 11% of premature deaths in men and women respectively.
* There are 2.6 million people living with CHD (i.e. angina, MI) in the UK.
* The total cost of CHD to the economy is £7.9 billion, with 45% due to direct healthcare costs, 40% in productivity losses and 16% due to the costs of informal care.13
The cost of ischaemic heart disease to the NHS due to physical inactivity has been estimated at 23% of a total spend of £2.3 billion14. The Foresight report 15 estimates direct NHS costs of CHD in 2007 to be £3.9 billion, suggesting the total NHS cost of CHD due to physical inactivity to be just over £1 billion.
The effect of walking on CHD is as follows16:
* Increased maximal oxygen consumption
* Relief of angina symptoms
* Increased heart rate variability
* Reduces Blood Pressure
* Reduces body fat
* Increases fibrinolysis
* Increases levels of HDL
* Improves glucose-insulin dynamics.
* Improved psychological wellbeing
* Protection from triggering an MI from vigorous activity >6 METS
For a healthy, young or middle-aged person, walking at a ‘normal’ to ‘brisk’ walking pace is enough to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and to improve risk factors for cardiovascular diseaseii.
Walking more than four hours per week reduces the risk of hospitalisation for cardiovascular disease by 30% compared to walking less than one hour per week17. The incidence of CHD is halved by walking over 1.5 miles a day in men compared to men who walked less distance per day18. Women who walked for exercise for about hours per week enjoyed a 35% reduction in their risk of CHD events compared to women who walked infrequently19.
Brisk walking of more than 3.5 hours a week may slow an atheroma, and walking five hours a week may slowly reverse its formation20.
Regular brisk risk walking reduces diastolic blood pressure but appears to have no effect on systolic blood pressureii.
Brisk walking for 8-15 miles per week for 6-9 months can increase good cholesterol levels (HDL) and reduce triglyceride levels in the blood21. Regular stair climbing has been reported to cause increases in HDL cholesterol, and a reduced ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol22.
* There are 2.6 million people living with CHD (i.e. angina, MI) in the UK.
* The total cost of CHD to the economy is £7.9 billion, with 45% due to direct healthcare costs, 40% in productivity losses and 16% due to the costs of informal care.13
The cost of ischaemic heart disease to the NHS due to physical inactivity has been estimated at 23% of a total spend of £2.3 billion14. The Foresight report 15 estimates direct NHS costs of CHD in 2007 to be £3.9 billion, suggesting the total NHS cost of CHD due to physical inactivity to be just over £1 billion.
The effect of walking on CHD is as follows16:
* Increased maximal oxygen consumption
* Relief of angina symptoms
* Increased heart rate variability
* Reduces Blood Pressure
* Reduces body fat
* Increases fibrinolysis
* Increases levels of HDL
* Improves glucose-insulin dynamics.
* Improved psychological wellbeing
* Protection from triggering an MI from vigorous activity >6 METS
For a healthy, young or middle-aged person, walking at a ‘normal’ to ‘brisk’ walking pace is enough to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and to improve risk factors for cardiovascular diseaseii.
Walking more than four hours per week reduces the risk of hospitalisation for cardiovascular disease by 30% compared to walking less than one hour per week17. The incidence of CHD is halved by walking over 1.5 miles a day in men compared to men who walked less distance per day18. Women who walked for exercise for about hours per week enjoyed a 35% reduction in their risk of CHD events compared to women who walked infrequently19.
Brisk walking of more than 3.5 hours a week may slow an atheroma, and walking five hours a week may slowly reverse its formation20.
Regular brisk risk walking reduces diastolic blood pressure but appears to have no effect on systolic blood pressureii.
Brisk walking for 8-15 miles per week for 6-9 months can increase good cholesterol levels (HDL) and reduce triglyceride levels in the blood21. Regular stair climbing has been reported to cause increases in HDL cholesterol, and a reduced ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol22.