Though the benefits of exercise abound, research presented today at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2014 shows that moderate exercise could cut stroke risk in women by 20% and offset the increased risk in women taking postmenopausal hormone therapy.
And the good news is that women can reduce their stroke risk by briskly walking, conferring the same benefits as if they were to run. The researchers, led by Prof. Sophia Wang of the Beckman Research Institute in California, say this decreased risk from moderate exercise is just as strong as that of strenuous exercise.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 795,000 people in the US have a stroke each year, killing nearly 130,000 individuals and costing the US $38.6 billion.
To conduct their study into stroke risks, the investigators analyzed data from the California Teachers Study, which consisted of over 130,000 women, to see how many experienced a stroke between 1996 and 2010.
The women who reported engaging in moderate physical activity in the 3 years before enrollment in the study were 20% less likely to suffer a stroke, compared with women who reported no activity.
Prof. Wang says she was surprised that the link to reduced stroke risk was strongest with moderate physical activity.
"More strenuous activity such as running didn't further reduce women's stroke risk," she adds. "Moderate activity, such as brisk walking appeared to be ideal in this scenario."
Effects of exercise on hormone therapy 'appear immediate'
The team also found that postmenopausal women taking menopausal hormones were able to slightly offset their increased risk of stroke with moderate exercise.
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