National Walking Day, Good For Your Heart and Sole

Take steps to boost your health by getting out and walking today for the American Heart Association’s National Walking Day.

The event – which happens annually on the first Wednesday of April – encourages Americans to step away from the computer or TV and get up and walk for at least 30 minutes out of their day. Our idle pastimes are putting us at risk for heart disease and stroke, says a New York cardiologist.

“With new developments in technology people have become significantly more sedentary,” said Evelina Grayver, MD, director of the coronary care unit at North Shore University Hospital. “People have no reason to get up and walk anymore because everything is easily accessible to them by a click of their computer. Even simple things like food shopping people can do online and have their purchases delivered to their house. “

A 30-minute walk, done most days of the week, will have you reaping benefits like:

• Significantly decreasing blood pressure
• Decreasing lipids, including your cholesterol and triglycerides
• Improving blood glucose level
• Reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes

“By controlling all of these risk factors, which is your blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes, you significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke,” said Dr. Grayver. “In addition, it really enhances your mental health. There’s a significant decrease in stress associated with walking and, as we know, stress is definitely a significant risk factor for both heart disease and stroke.”

While the gold standard for heart health is 10,000 steps a day, Dr. Grayver says that that number is not set in stone and is specific to each individual.

“If somebody has been in good physical shape throughout their life and maintains that on a seasonal basis, then they can really push it to 15,000 steps a day,” said Dr. Grayver.

The key thing is to just get up and start moving.

“National Walking Day should really be something that we emphasize for more than just one day.”