(HealthCanal.com) — Researchers have found a link between high blood pressure and a greater drop in average walking speeds in older adults, according to results from a new National Institutes of Health-funded study.
The drop seems to occur even in study participants whose high blood pressure is successfully treated. Drastic changes in walking speed can impact a senior’s ability to remain independent and indicate possible health problems.
The study examined the role of brain, heart, and kidney function in changes in seniors’ walking speeds over 14 years. Participating seniors, with an average age of 76 at the start of the study, who had high blood pressure, saw their average walking speeds decline 0.2 miles per hour more than seniors who did not have high blood pressure. The study will appear in the March edition of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.
“The findings from this study suggest an additional reason to stress prevention of high blood pressure,” said Susan B. Shurin, M.D., acting director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the NIH. “Even with medications to treat high blood pressure in older adults, it appears that the condition might be linked to a serious decline in average walking speed. As the mobility of seniors declines, there is an increased risk for falls.”
About one-third of adults in the United States have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, which can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, and kidney failure.
The University of Pittsburgh’s Caterina Rosano, M.D., led the research as part of the Cardiovascular Health Study, which the NHLBI began funding in 1989 to help understand risk factors for cardiovascular disease in older adults.
Loading ...
Loading ...