February is American Heart Month — when people are encouraged to focus on their heart health.
On Long Island, the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health is running a national clinical trial encouraging people to walk more to reduce cardiovascular diseases.
Participants wear a FitBit and are prompted to get their steps in through text messages. They also share their walking data and answer questionnaires about changes to their daily routines.
Dr. Ashley Goodwin, the lead researcher, said the goal is to get people to change behavior and boost confidence in their abilities.
“We also know from research that walking even 1,000 extra steps per day, more than you usually walk, is going to confer some protective effects on your cardiovascular health,” Goodwin said.
The walking study is in its third year of research.
To qualify, participants must be inactive and have one risk factor for heart disease.
Salicia Jaozil, a trial participant from Jacksonville, Florida, said she lost over 50 pounds. Jaozil, who received a kidney transplant in 2019, said she started gaining weight after an increase in the dosage of her medication.
She said the trial motivated her to improve her health. “With doing that walking, it also just motivated me to eat better,” she said. “So, I started cutting out different foods and different things like that where I went from pretty much being almost a size 18 to back to like a size 6.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, with one person dying from the disease every 33 seconds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
