Forget walking 10,000 steps a day. Taking at the least 50 steps climbing stairs every day could significantly slash your risk of heart disease, in line with a latest study from Tulane University.

The study, published in Atherosclerosis, found that climbing greater than five flights of stairs every day could reduce risk of heart problems by 20%.

Atherosclerotic heart problems (ASCVD) together with coronary artery disease and stroke are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide.

Short bursts of high-intensity stair climbing are a time-efficient technique to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and lipid profile, especially amongst those unable to attain the present physical activity recommendations. These findings highlight the potential benefits of stair climbing as a primary safety measure for ASCVD in the overall population.”

Dr. Lu Qi, co-corresponding writer, HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and professor on the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

Using UK Biobank data collected from 450,000 adults, the study calculated participants’ susceptibility to heart problems based on family history, established risk aspects and genetic risk aspects and surveyed participants about their lifestyle habits and frequency of stair climbing. Median follow-up time was 12.5 years.

The study found that climbing more stairs every day especially reduced risk of heart problems in those that were less susceptible. Nonetheless, Qi said the increased risk of heart disease in additional susceptible people could possibly be “effectively offset” by every day stair climbing.

Qi touted the general public availability of stairs as a low-cost, accessible technique to incorporate exercise into every day routines.

“This study provides novel evidence for the protective effects of stair climbing on the danger of ASCVD, particularly for people with multiple ASCVD risk aspects,” Qi said.

Source:

Journal reference:

Song, Z., et al. (2023). Each day stair climbing, disease susceptibility, and risk of atherosclerotic heart problems: A prospective cohort study. Atherosclerosis. doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2023.117300.