Research: This Many Minutes of Walking Daily May Cut Cardiac Death Risk Up to 60% for a Large Group

When it comes to your health, often the simplest change can yield noteworthy results, and it doesn’t get much simpler than heading outside (or to the treadmill) for a walk.

If you could use a little incentive to get moving again after being diagnosed with a medical setback, a study recently presented an American Heart Association conference is highlighting how helpful walking, or similar forms of exercise, can be for one particular group.

Researchers from eight U.S. universities came together to analyze data from two previous studies focused on cancer fatalities and overall physical activity levels. In total, they looked at data taken from 2,479 women with a history of cancer, with more than 50% of the participants having a history of breast cancer. The team’s findings were presented at the American Heart Association’s 2025 Epidemiology and Prevention Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health conference earlier this month.

Between 2011 and 2015, the participants—all between the ages of 63 and 99—wore accelerometers (movement monitors) on their hips, for up to a week, for a minimum of 10 hours per day. These women had been diagnosed with the following cancer types:

• breast cancer – 52%
• endometrial cancer – 8.5%
• malignant melanoma – 7%
• colon cancer – 6.6%
• lung cancer – 3%
• bladder cancer, rectal cancer, and ovarian cancer – each, separately, comprised 2% of participants
• kidney cancer – 1.7%
• head and neck cancer – 1%
• myeloma – 0.7%
• 13% diagnosed with cancer categorized as “other.”

Follow-up analysis was then done with the participants over the course of approximately eight years.

The study’s data provided a few key takeaways, including:

• Just one hour of daily “moderate to vigorous” physical activity (which included brisk walking, playing tennis, or bike riding, among others) reduced an overall risk of death—from any cause—by 40%, as well as a 60% risk reduction of death from cardiovascular disease.
• Participants who walked 5,000 to 6,000 daily steps saw the greatest overall risk reduction, but for every additional 2,500 daily steps, the study participants also incrementally experienced “a 34% reduction in risk of death from cardiovascular disease.”
• Every 102 minutes of sitting time per day was connected with a 12% “increased risk of all-cause mortality” and 30% increase of cardiovascular disease death.

Even if those step count goals sound high, there’s good news: The team said the data also pointed to “significant reductions in risk” for people who engaged in physical activity “far below one hour per day.”

A member of the American Heart Association’s Physical Activity Science Committee, Keith Diaz, PhD, was not involved in the study but helped explain these effects, saying “these findings highlight that walking—at any intensity—matters.” He added that when an individual undertakes exercise, “the benefits are available to everyone, including people navigating life after cancer.”

Dr. Diaz highlighted another critical point that applies not just to cancer patients and survivors, but to most Americans: “Another key takeaway from this study is the impact of sedentary time,” he said. “Many adults now spend the majority of their day sitting, not engaged in physical activity, and for cancer survivors, this issue is likely even more pronounced due to the physical toll of cancer treatment and recovery. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that prolonged sitting is a significant health risk—one that we must actively combat, particularly after a cancer diagnosis.”

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