Four Years of an Ambulatory Program of Nordic Walking: A New Tool for Primary and Secondary Prevention and Community`s Health

Background: The usefulness of physical activity (PA) for the prevention of cardiovascular (CV) disease has undoubtedly been proved. During the last decade Nordic Walking (NW) has emerged as a new form of PA wich involves more muscular groups when compared to standard disciplines, such as walking or jogging, and is well accepted by patients of all ages.
Aim: To introduce NW in our sanitary area and to study its benefits on CV health.
Results: In 2013 we performed a pilot study with NW on 23 patients with coronary heart disease or metabolic syndrome (MS) twice a week for one year. The number of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) decreased from 4,78 to 3, with reduction of 3 points in the Regicor risk score in patients with MS, improving their quality of life and their adherence to the treatment. The pilot study was later on expanded up to 100 patients: 23 from the pilot study, 18 with heart diseases, 19 from others specialities and 40 from the community with 62% regular attendance, 7% occasional and 31% never. Moreover, the local government has now ordered that workshops of NW for patients will be offered this year in all our area.
Conclusions:
- NW is feasible in our public health system and can be useful to reduce CVRF.
- The cornerstones are the linking to the health system at the beginning, that provides confidence to the patients and allows knowledge of their tolerance to the activity, and the expert patient who leads the group in new free initiatives.