Scientists Reveal How Long Your Daily Walk Should Be to Significantly Lower Heart Disease Risk
There's a current cultural obsession with taking health habits to the extreme. Proteinmaxxing (the trend of intentionally maximizing daily protein intake), ultra-tracking (using wearables to log pretty much everything you do), supplement stacking…They're all habits that didn't exist a decade ago that now rule many people's daily lives.
It's why it can seem almost countercultural to focus on a simple habit that numerous scientific studies have long shown is extremely beneficial to health and can even add years to your life: walking. Yep, not ultra-marathons. Not even regular marathons. Just walking.
Walking is scientifically linked to lowering blood pressure, relieving pain and joint stiffness, supporting brain health, reducing the risk of certain types of cancer and supporting sleep. It can also lower your risk of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the U.S. If you want to integrate walking into your daily routine for this purpose, it's important to know how long your walks should be and how often you should take them.
Keep reading to find out what cardiologists recommend, based on scientific research. Plus, they explain how walking compares to running in terms of cardiovascular benefits.
Why Walking Supports Heart Health
According to the cardiologists we talked to, walking truly is a powerful way to protect your heart. Dr. David Sabgir, MD, a cardiologist with OhioHealth and the founder of Walk With A Doc, says that there are several reasons for this.
Walking also helps slow plaque buildup in the arteries, helps prevent chronic inflammation, improves blood vessel function by helping arteries relax and expand so blood flows more easily and makes blood less "sticky," which reduces the risk of dangerous clots.
"Walking also tunes up your nervous system, lowering your resting heart rate and helping your heart respond more efficiently to stress," Dr. Sabgir says. That's a whole lot of benefits just from taking a walk!
"Walking tackles the usual suspects behind heart disease," he adds. "It helps lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol, control blood sugar and manage weight. Some researchers have found that the most powerful ways exercise reduces heart disease risk are by dialing down inflammation and lowering blood pressure."
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There are some indirect ways that walking supports heart health too. Dr. Sawallah Guseh, MD, the director of the cardiovascular performance program in the Massachusetts General Brigham Heart & Vascular Institute, tells Parade that walking also helps lower stress and supports sleep, which are both connected to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
"Walking can also be social, and that matters. Social connection has long been linked to better health and longevity, so a walk with a spouse, friend, neighbor or group may help the heart in more than one way," he adds.
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How Long Should Your Walks Be To Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease?
Both cardiologists say that the more often you walk, the better. Going on a walk once a week is better than never going on a walk; walking three times a week is more beneficial than weekly walks, and daily walks are best of all.
How long should your daily walks be to make a noticeable difference in lowering the risk for cardiovascular disease? According to a 2025 study out of the University of Sydney, uninterrupted walking for 10 to 15 minutes significantly lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers found that it reduces the risk by up to two-thirds compared to walks that are shorter than 10 minutes.
Dr. Sabgir highlights another large study that found that walking 10 to 15 minutes a day (roughly 2,800 steps) is enough to start lowering the risk of heart disease. "Every extra 1,000 steps, about 10 more minutes, pushes that risk down even further," he says. This means that while 10 to 15-minute walks a day greatly lower the risk of heart disease, the longer your walks are, the more beneficial they will be.
With this in mind, Dr. Guseh recommends making a daily 15-minute walk a starting goal and slowly increasing the length over time, building toward 150 minutes a week (roughly 21 minutes a day), which is the exercise guideline recommended by the American Heart Association.
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Is Running Better for Heart Health Than Walking?
When it comes to running versus walking for heart health, both cardiologists make one point clear: Both are extremely beneficial. So are other forms of exercise.
"Cycling, swimming, rowing, dancing, hiking, elliptical training and brisk walking all improve aerobic fitness and cardiometabolic health," Dr. Guseh says. "Strength training is also important because it supports muscle mass, glucose metabolism and long-term function. The most complete approach is aerobic exercise, resistance training and less sitting."
In terms of running versus walking, he notes that they offer different benefits.
"Running is more intense, so it's more time-efficient. But walking is easier to start, lower impact and more sustainable for many people. I wouldn't say running is universally better. The best exercise is the one someone can do consistently and safely. For many people, that's walking," he says.
Dr. Sabgir adds to this, saying that walking and running provide very similar benefits.
"A major study of nearly 48,000 runners and walkers found no significant difference between the two activities in reducing the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease, as long as the total energy spent was equivalent," he explains.
The main benefit of running instead of walking, Dr. Sabgir emphasizes, is efficiency: A five to 10-minute run can deliver benefits comparable to a 15- to 20-minute walk.
The big takeaway is that you don't have to go on long runs to lower your risk of heart disease. Walking is a great, science-backed way to reduce your risk. Dr. Guseh sums it up this way: "The clinical message is simple: Walk more, sit less, make it purposeful when you can and build gradually."
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Sources:
- Omura, J. D., Ussery, E. N., Loustalot, F., et al. (2019). Walking as an Opportunity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. Preventing Chronic Disease. doi: 10.5888/pcd16.180690.
- Leading Causes of Death. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Dr. David Sabgir, MD, cardiologist with OhioHealth and the founder of Walk With A Doc.
- Dr. Sawallah Guseh, MD, director of the cardiovascular performance program in the Massachusetts General Brigham Heart & Vascular Institute.
- American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids. American Heart Association.
- This easy daily habit cuts heart risk by two thirds. ScienceDaily.
- Del Pozo Cruz, B., Ahmadi, M. N. and Lee, I. M. (2022). Prospective Associations of Daily Step Counts and Intensity With Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Incidence and Mortality and All-Cause Mortality.JAMA Internal Medicine. 182(11):1139-1148.
- Williams, P. T. and Thompson, P. D. (2013). Walking Versus Running for Hypertension, Cholesterol, and Diabetes Mellitus Risk Reduction.Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.112.300878.
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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 2:25 PM.