Regular Stair Climbing Can Help Hold Off Heart Disease
If you are unable to exercise a minimum of 150 minutes per week, climbing stairs could be an effective way to lower your risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). A study reported in Atherosclerosis (2023) found that adults who climbed more than five flights of stairs daily were 20% less likely to develop ASCVD within 12 years than those who did not regularly climb stairs. Stair climbing was less protective in individuals who had a higher 10-year ASCVD risk or family history of ASCVD at baseline. However, the more stairs that were climbed daily, the greater the protection. On the flip side, those who stopped climbing stairs over time were 32% more likely to develop ASCVD than those who never climbed stairs.