A new study has found every extra step above 2,200 a day lowers the risk of heart disease and early death.

The researchers found walking up to 10,000 steps a day reduces these risks, regardless of how much of the remaining time is spent sitting.

The lowest risk of early death was among people who took 9,000 to 10,500 steps a day.

When it came to avoiding stroke and heart attack, the lowest risks were in people managing around 9,700 steps a day.

Experts have previously found people who spend a lot of time sitting while awake, such as when watching TV or working at their desks, are more likely to suffer an early death and develop heart disease.

It has been unclear whether walking can offset the effects of sitting down for most of the day - until now.

The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and spearheaded by researchers at the University of Sydney, analysed data from 72,174 people aged around 61 from UK Biobank - genetic, physical and health data collected from individuals from across the UK.

Participants wore an accelerometer device for seven days to measure their exercise levels.

After a seven-year follow-up, 1,633 deaths and 6,190 cardiovascular events, such as heart attack or stroke, were recorded.

The results showed any amount of daily steps above 2,200 a day were linked to lower death and heart disease - even if the remainder of the day was spent being inactive - but the benefits increased the more steps people took.

Overall, taking 9,000 to 10,500 steps a day cut the risk of early death by 39% and the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 21%.

In both cases, 50% of the benefit was achieved at between 4,000 and 4,500 steps a day.

A second study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, found even low levels of exercise can help cut the risk of stroke.

These researchers, including from Imperial College London NHS Healthcare Trust, said: "People should be encouraged to be physically active even at the lowest levels."

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Julie Ward, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We encourage everyone to stay active for their heart and circulatory health by doing 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.

"This can be any activity that fits into your lifestyle, such as taking regular walking breaks away from your computer screen, going to the gym, enjoying exercise classes, or even getting off the bus one stop earlier to get more steps in."