Daily Stair Climbing Linked to Lower Risk of Heart Disease Death

Using the stairs rather than the elevator could be one of the easiest ways to increase daily activity levels. The recently published review of previous studies show that regular stair climbing is tied to a 39% reduction in risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The findings have garnered interest because stair climbing offers a simple, free form of exercise without the need of organized classes or the purchase of a gym membership.

It is easy to do at home, on the job or en route to one’s destination, providing an opportunity to convert several minutes of unencumbered movement into a potentially fitness-enhancing endeavor. Between them, the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital examined results from nine studies, which had a combined total of over 480,000 participants.

These studies analyzed populations aged between 35 and 84, and included both middle aged healthy subjects and people with existing cardiovascular disease.

The combined analysis of all nine studies revealed that stair-climbers experienced 39% less risk of cardiovascular mortality and 24% less risk of all-cause mortality. The other anomlay was the association between stair climbing and a reduction in heart attack, stroke and heart failure. The authors said: ‘we draw positive conclusions from this review about the association between stair climbing and cardiovascular disease, but we can only suggest at this stage that there may be a relationship.

The reason is of the nature of the evidence (observational studies). Another argument for stairs as a in particular effective mode of transportation might be that walking up them tends to be an intensive activity rather than walking along gently.

The activity gets the heart rate up rapidly, using a number of large skeletal muscle groups in the legs. Consistently repeating the activity… And, the research also indicates that people should not think they have to work out for several hours a day to make more room for physical activity in their schedule.

Previous research done on hundreds of thousands of UK Biobank participants shows that by going up stairs for more than 5 flights of stairs day can equate to reduced risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Maximum reduction was in the six to 10 flights per day, though the researchers warned that such study does not prove causation. In an era where many people spend most their time at a desk, physically inactive, this concept has gained greater leverage.

By popping to the stairs when there is no time to top up one’s activity levels with a formalized workout, a small, manageable and convenient mechanism can be introduced. There is one other significant benefit. The act of climbing stairs doesn’t necessarily involve any exercize. Unlike most other types of training, it can simply be a part of an activity people are already doing. Taking the stairs instead of the lift in an office, apartment building, train station or mall can help build activity levels.