Forget 10,000 steps: Walking by this technique can reduce th ..

Anything that begins with high and ends with pressure cannot be good for your health—or your heart. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is known to crank up the risk of cardiovascular disease, and the best way to prevent or manage it? Exercise. No surprises there. But the surprise? You don’t need to chase the mythical 10,000 steps a day to make a difference.

A new study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, has some heartening news for the not-so-sporty souls. Researchers analyzed data from over 36,000 individuals with hypertension and found that walking—even below the 10,000-step benchmark—can significantly reduce the risk of heart failure, stroke, and heart attacks.

Every 1,000-step increase after the first 2,300 steps was linked to a 17% drop in major cardiovascular events. The magic continued to rise till the 10,000-step mark, after which stroke risk took a sharp dip. Even walking at a brisk pace—about 80 steps per minute for 30 minutes—was associated with a 30% lower risk of heart-related issues.

Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, who supervised the study, summed it up best: “If you live with high blood pressure, the more you walk—with greater intensity—the lower your risk of serious cardiovascular events. Any movement is better than none.”

The takeaway? Ditch the guilt if you’re not hitting 10k steps. You don’t need to be a marathoner to protect your heart. Every step counts—literally.

So lace up those sneakers, step out, and remember: your heart isn’t counting how many, it’s just cheering that you’re moving at all.
**This news was published on Times of India on 7th August, 2025.

 

 

 

a Source Click