Researchers linking the speed at which you walk with cardiovascular disease say, slow walkers amongst the older people who only take exercise about thrice a week are more likely to die of heart disease, than those who walk faster.

Previous studies have already associated walking speed with other issues like falls, disability, including an increased number of hospitalizations, and now experts are strongly associating walking slowly with an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, such as, heart disease and strokes.

Following the 3,208 men and women aged 65 to 85 who participated in the study published online in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), for an average of five years, researchers excluded people with Parkinson’s or dementia, since these diseases tend to cause problems with walking.

Using a series of tests, experts monitored walking speed, including checking normal walking speed and the maximum speed managed without running. Overall, there were 209-deaths over the course of the study i. e. 99 from cancer, 59 from cardiovascular disease and 51 from other causes.

The authors of the study found a link between cardiovascular deaths and walking speed, with experts saying there is evidence linking low walking speed to increased thickness of arteries associated with cardiovascular disease.

Walking quickly has also been seen to increase levels of good cholesterol in the blood, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease, indicating that it is necessary to keep fit and healthy as one ages.