Just three minutes of brisk walking a day can halve the risk of a heart attack or stroke, a study has found.
Short but intense bursts of activity have been linked to significant reductions in cardiovascular disease among people who don't exercise, with women particularly benefiting.
Researchers found that there was a 51 percent reduction in heart attacks in women who did just 3.4 minutes of “vigorous intermittent” exercise every day, such as brisk walking or climbing stairs.
These women also had 67 percent fewer cases of heart failure, with an overall reduction in heart disease by 45 percent, compared to those who did not exercise at all.
And even among those who did just 90 seconds of vigorous activity every day, the risk of a heart problem fell by almost a third.
The benefits in men were smaller but still present, the University of Sydney research team said, adding that the measure could be “a promising target for physical activity” for those who cannot or do not want to exercise.
Men who did 2.3 minutes of exercise, which also included carrying heavy groceries or other daily activities, but no “formal exercise,” reduced their risk of heart attacks, strokes or heart failure by 11 percent.
Increasing the duration of exercise to 5.6 minutes only reduced the overall risk by another five percentage points, to 16 percent, compared to those who did no activity.
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, used data from 81,052 middle-aged people who took part in the UK Biobank study.
Participants wore an activity tracker for seven days between 2013 and 2015 and had their vital signs and exercise levels monitored.
About 22,368 people reported that they did not exercise regularly or went for a walk only once a week.
Their heart health was monitored for eight years, during which time 3.7 percent of the group had a heart or stroke, developed heart failure or died from heart disease.
The risk for men was generally higher: 488 of 9,350 developed one of these conditions, compared with 331 of 13,018 women.
Women who reported between 1.2 and 1.6 minutes per day had a 33 percent lower risk of heart attack and a percent lower risk of heart failure.
Researchers said that “vigorous, intermittent physical activity may be a promising physical activity target for cardiovascular disease prevention, especially in women unable or unwilling to participate in formal exercise.”
They said that despite the observational results, which are strongest for women who did not exercise, the researchers said men should continue to do vigorous-intensity exercise regularly to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease.
The findings come after a separate study from the University of Cambridge last year found that 11 minutes of brisk walking a day reduced the risk of premature death by 23 percent.
