What if living in an apartment on the 5th floor without an elevator was the best way to have a healthy heart and reduce the risk of heart attack? Saccording to a new study conducted for 10 years with 400,000 British people, going up and down around fifty steps of stairs every day (roughly the equivalent of 5 floors) would preserve cardiovascular health just as effectively as walking 10,000 steps per day.
“Short, high-intensity stair climbs are an effective way to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and lipid profile, particularly in people unable to meet current physical activity recommendations,” explained Professor Lu Qi, from Tulane University (United States), main author of the study. “The results of our study highlight the potential benefits of stair climbing as a preventative measure for atherosclerosis,” he adds.
Go up and down at least 5 floors per day
Atherosclerotic plaques, or atherosclerosis, which are deposited on the inner wall of vessels are an important risk factor for heart attack or stroke. However, according to this American study, people who climb at least 5 floors on foot every day are 3% less likely to suffer from atherosclerosis than those who do not climb any.
If you climb these 5 floors between 6 and 10 times a day, the risk decreases by 16%. And if you climb them between 1 and 15 times, the risk decreases by 22%. “For most people, climbing stairs is a more vigorous exercise than walking,” emphasize the researchers, who in this exercise come a preventive measure for atherosclerosis.
Source : Daily stair climbing, disease susceptibility, and risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: A prospective cohort studyAtherosclerosis, October 2023
