Walking an extra 500 steps reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke

Dallas: A study found that walking an extra 500 steps a day significantly reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke in people in their 70s.

Scientists have found that people who walk more than half a kilometer per day have a 14% reduction in heart problems.

Experts say the research findings suggest that setting achievable goals on a fitness tracker can be helpful for good health in old age.

Several studies have looked at young to middle-aged people whose goal was to walk 10,000 or more steps per day, the researchers said.

The researchers studied 15,792 people with an average age of 78 years. Their aim was to look at the health effects of daily steps taken by these elderly people.

Scientists analyzed data from more than 450 people in the study. These individuals used a device such as a pedometer to count the number of steps they walked each day.

These devices are worn for 10 or more hours for three or more days. Around 3500 steps were counted daily during this period.

The study found that people who walked about 4,500 steps were 77 percent less likely to have a heart attack or stroke. While the probability of cardiovascular events in these people was up to 3.5 percent. On the other hand, people who walked less than 2,000 steps had a 12 percent chance of these events.

Every 500 extra steps taken was associated with a 14 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease, according to findings presented at an American Heart Association conference.