People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis tend to walk less than other people, but their heart health would improve if they'd spent more time walking, according to a new report.

Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior contribute to the risk of cardiovascular disease, the authors explain in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism, but little is known about energy expenditure from lifestyle physical activity in arthritis patients.

"Given the markedly increased risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with RA, fostering prudent physical activity should be a priority in the overall plan to reduce cardiovascular risk," Dr. Carol A. Mancuso from Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York and associates write.

They compared energy expenditure from exercise and lifestyle activities between 122 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 122 healthy "controls" without arthritis.

At the start of the study, similar percentages of arthritis patients and controls met recommended thresholds for total weekly energy expenditure, the team found, but the proportion of patients with arthritis meeting the recommended threshold for walking (32 percent) was notably lower than controls (48 percent).

At follow-up an average of 14 months later, the researchers report, the picture was much the same.

"This study provides evidence that despite the fact that walking is an excellent lifestyle activity, it is markedly underutilized in rheumatoid arthritis patients," the authors conclude. "Our study supports the development and implementation of interventions to foster walking as part of a program to address cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis patients."