New York, Sep 20 : Older adults can prevent their risk of strokes by taking a daily stroll for just 35 minutes a day or four hours a week, say researchers.

Indulging in moderate physical activity, such as swimming, brisk walking, or running two to three hours a week may also reduce the severity of strokes than people who are physically inactive.

"Stroke is a major cause of serious disability, so finding ways to prevent stroke or reduce the disability caused by stroke are important," said Katharina S. Sunnerhagen, from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

"While exercise benefits health in many ways, our research suggests that even simply getting in a small amount of physical activity each week may have a big impact later by possibly reducing the severity of a stroke," she added.

For the study, published in the journal Neurology, the team identified 925 people with an average age of 73 who had a stroke.

Of the 481 people who were physically inactive, 354 or 73 per cent had mild stroke. Of the 384 who engaged in light physical activity, 330 or 85 per cent had mild stroke. Of the 59 people who engaged in moderate physical activity, 53 or 89 per cent had mild stroke.

People who engaged in light to moderate physical activity before their stroke were twice as likely to have a mild stroke rather than a moderate or severe stroke when compared to people who were physically inactive, the researchers said.

"There is a growing body of evidence that physical activity may have a protective effect on the brain and our research adds to that evidence," Sunnerhagen said.

The study does not prove that physical activity reduces stroke severity; it only shows an association, she noted.



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Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to consultant Chetan Patil arrested in connection with the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj''s statue at Rajkot fort in Malvan in August.

A 35-foot statue of the iconic Maratha warrior king collapsed in Sindhudurg district on August 26, nearly nine months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it on Navy Day.

Patil was arrested on August 30 from Kolhapur.

A single bench of Justice A S Kilor on Thursday held that no case was made out to implicate Patil in the case as he had not been appointed as the structural designer of the statue.

The bench further said Patil had only submitted a structural stability report of the pedestal of the statue and the pedestal was intact even after the collapse.

Another accused, Jaydeep Apte, who was the sculptor and contractor, was also arrested in the case. The HC said it would hear his bail plea on November 25.

The Sindhudurg police had registered an FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for negligence and other offences last month against Apte and Patil for the statue's collapse.

Patil and Apte moved HC seeking bail after a sessions court rejected their pleas.