Walking just two hours per week can reduce your risk of stroke by 30% or more. The lead researcher stated:
“We found that increasing physical activity including brisk walking was protective against stroke, especially ischemic stroke, in middle-aged and older women,” Dr. Hu said, “and in our study, the predominant form of physical activity was walking as well.”
There was also a “dose-dependent” response between the amount of time spent walking and decrease in stroke risk in the Nurses’ Health Study, and walking pace “was independently associated with a lower stroke risk as well, meaning that women who walked faster had an even lower risk of developing stroke than others,” he said.
“The bottom line is that physical activity, including moderate physical activity, is beneficial for the prevention of stroke, but we don’t have sufficient data to say that it is more beneficial for one type of stroke than for any other type of stroke,” Dr. Hu concluded.
