Daily HealthBeat Tip

The paradoxical walk.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I�m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Peripheral artery disease � narrowing of the arteries, most commonly in the legs � is a paradoxical disease. Even though it can make your legs hurt when you walk, walking is a good treatment. It slows progression of the disease.

That�s why doctors prescribe physical rehabilitation, on treadmills.

But many people can�t get to � or afford � rehab. So Mary McGrae McDermott of Northwestern University wanted to see if people could benefit by walking on their own. Her study, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health, was in Annals of Internal Medicine.

"People who did not walk for exercise at all had about 80 feet per year decline in their six-minute walk performance, while the people who walked three or more times per year had a decline of only about 40 feet per year." (12 seconds)

McDermott�s conclusion: Regular walking helps.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: February 28, 2006

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