Heart Health

Higher step counts linked to lower risk of heart-related death

Research we're watching

By , Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter

photo of a mature couple taking a walk outdoors

The more steps you take, the lower your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, with the benefits starting with as few as 2,300 steps per day, a new analysis suggests.

Published online Aug. 9, 2023, by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, the study pooled data from 17 studies from around the world involving nearly 227,000 people in total. Their average age was 64, with nearly equal numbers of men and women.

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About the Author

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Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter

Julie Corliss is the executive editor of the Harvard Heart Letter. Before working at Harvard, she was a medical writer and editor at HealthNews, a consumer newsletter affiliated with The New England Journal of Medicine. She … See Full Bio
View all posts by Julie Corliss

About the Reviewer

photo of Christopher P. Cannon, MD

Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing

Dr. Christopher P. Cannon is editor in chief of the Harvard Heart Letter. He is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and senior physician in the Preventive Cardiology section of the Cardiovascular Division at … See Full Bio
View all posts by Christopher P. Cannon, MD

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