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Improved walking speed associated with reduced hospitalization rates
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For cardiac outpatients, an increase of 1 km per hour in walking speed is associated with a 21% lower all-cause hospitalization rate, according to data published in Heart.
Giovanni Grazzi, MD, professor in the Center of Biomedical Studies Applied to Sport at the University of Ferrara in Italy, and colleagues analyzed data from 1,791 participants enrolled in an exercise-based secondary prevention program between October 1997 and January 2013.
As a part of the program, each participant was required to perform 30 to 60 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise at least 3 to 4 days a week, as well as to increase daily activities such as walking, gardening and housework. A 1 km treadmill walk test was performed at baseline and again 3 years later between October 2000 and January 2013. The primary endpoint was hospitalization during the first 3 years after baseline measurement.
The average walking speed was 4 km per hour. During the 3 years of follow-up, 699 participants were hospitalized. According to Grazzi and colleagues, the hospitalization rate ranged from 25.4% for the fastest walkers to 50.3% for the slowest walkers. In addition, the HR for hospitalization was lower for the fastest walkers (HR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.43-0.78) and the moderate walkers (HR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.74-1.17) compared with the slowest walkers.
For each increase of 1 km per hour in walking speed, there was a 21% reduction in hospitalization (P < .0001), according to the researchers.
For years 4 to 6, hospitalization rates were also lower for the fastest walkers than the slowest walkers (P for trend < .0001), and each rise of 1 km per hour in walking speed was associated with a 35% decline in hospitalization (P < .0001), Grazzi and colleagues wrote.
“The present study adds to the growing body of literature supporting the concept that subjects with slow [walking speed] have a higher rate of hospitalization, which represents a critical and commonly used endpoint in [cardiovascular disease] clinical trials,” the researchers wrote. – by Tracey Romero
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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