Share on Pinterest- A major study has recently found that taking the stairs may help reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
- The researchers also found that climbing stairs can reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.
- This adds to previous research showing that even short bursts of physical activity can have beneficial health impacts, and that just minutes of stair climbing can lower cholesterol and improve cardiorespiratory fitness.
A new systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that stair climbing may be associated with better cardiovascular health and a lower risk of premature death
Published August 13 in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, the research included nine studies involving nearly half a million adults and examined outcomes including cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, heart attack, stroke, and heart failure
While the findings suggest that taking the stairs may offer meaningful health benefits, they don’t prove that stair climbing directly lowers these risks. Researchers also have yet to determine how much stair climbing may be most beneficial
Stair climbing linked to 39% lower risk of cardiovascular death
The nine studies involved adults ages 35 to 84, including healthy participants as well as people with a history of heart attack or peripheral artery disease
To look specifically at the risk of death, researchers combined data from five of the studies, involving 455,619 participants. They found that stair climbing was associated with a 39% lower risk of cardiovascular death and a 24% lower risk of death from any cause
The studies also looked at the risk of cardiovascular conditions, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. Stair climbing was associated with a lower risk of these conditions in several studies, although differences among the studies meant researchers couldn’t determine an overall risk reduction
There were also differences in how stair climbing was measured. Some studies looked at how many flights of stairs people typically climbed, while others assessed whether participants could climb stairs without stopping
The researchers noted that other factors, such as participants’ overall physical activity levels and health behaviors, could have contributed to their lower cardiovascular risk. For these reasons, the findings show an association but do not prove that stair climbing itself caused the lower mortality risk
However, Kaustubh Dabhadkar, MD, board certified preventive cardiologist at Novant Health and medical advisor to Veevo Health, who was not involved in the study, said the findings were impressive
“If someone told us that a pill cuts your risk of heart disease by a third, we would all be lining up for that pill. Stair climbing is that pill, yet no one is lining up to take the stairs,” he told Healthline
How stair climbing can benefit heart health
Stair climbing can provide a relatively intense form of physical activity in a short amount of time. Climbing stairs increases your heart rate and requires your body to work against gravity, increasing both energy expenditure and cardiorespiratory demand
Paul Drury, MD, board certified cardiologist and associate medical director of electrophysiology at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, who wasn’t involved in the study, explained that the benefits are similar to those of other forms of exercise
“The mechanism for this reduction is that exercise helps lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol, and promote weight loss,” Drury told Healthline
Research suggests that regular stair climbing may also improve cardiovascular fitness and build muscle strength. These benefits may help explain why greater levels of physical activity are associated with better cardiovascular health
Stair climbing can range from moderate to vigorous intensity depending on factors such as pace and fitness level, meaning it can contribute to your overall weekly physical activity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week, along with muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 days per week
How many stairs should you climb for heart health?
Researchers don’t yet know how many stairs people should climb each day to get the greatest cardiovascular benefit
However, a 2023 study included in the review found that cardiovascular disease risk declined as stair climbing increased, with the lowest risk observed among people who climbed about six flights, or 60 steps, per day. The researchers did not observe additional reductions in risk at higher levels of stair climbing
The review authors also pointed to a separate 2022 study
suggesting that even a few minutes of vigorous activity throughout the day may offer benefits
That study included 25,241 adults who reported not exercising during their leisure time and followed them for an average of nearly 7 years. Researchers found that getting about 4.4 minutes per day of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity was associated with a 32% to 34% lower risk of cardiovascular death and a 26% to 30% lower risk of all-cause death
This type of activity refers to brief bursts of vigorous movement during everyday life, such as very fast walking or stair climbing
“Even short bursts of intensive activity can be helpful as long as the activity is repeated frequently,” Dabhadkar said. “By participating even in short bursts of activity, people are making a small commitment to be healthy.”
How to add more stair climbing to your exercise routine
If you want to add more stair climbing to your routine, experts recommend starting gradually, particularly if you haven’t been physically active
Rather than focusing on hitting a specific number of stairs, look for opportunities to incorporate stair climbing throughout your day. This could include choosing the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator, or breaking stair climbing into several short bouts
“The study highlights the importance of progress over perfection. A simple exercise of stair climbing is not perfect by any means. However, it is a gateway for people to start their journey toward reducing their risk of heart disease,” Dabhadkar said
Stair climbing isn’t appropriate or accessible for everyone, including some people with mobility limitations or certain joint and musculoskeletal conditions. Other forms of physical activity can provide cardiovascular benefits as well
“While this study focuses on people who take the stairs, it is really just a reminder that staying active is important for cardiovascular health,” Drury said
“If stairs aren’t easily accessible, any activity that raises the heart rate even for a few minutes should be beneficial,” he told Healthline
