if you take the stairs you lower heart-risk by 40%.
New research presented last week at a European cardiology conference found that folks who habitually take the stairs lower their risk of death from heart disease by roughly 39% compared to those who don’t commit to the climb.
Stair steppers also reduce their risk of dying from any cause by 24% and their overall risk of having a heart attack, heart failure or a stroke.
The analysis explored nine studies that included 480,479 participants between 35 and 84 years old with varying health histories.
“Based on these results, we would encourage people to incorporate stair climbing into their day-to-day lives,” said study author Dr. Sophie Paddock of the University of East Anglia in England.
Taking the stairs combines aerobic exercise with resistance training, accelerating the heart rate while building leg muscles, meaning stairs edge out steps when it comes to overall cardio conditioning.
Looking to add stairs to your fitness routine? Experts say to start slow and track your climb using a Fitbit or an Apple Watch.
Dr. Carlin Long, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, provided an aspirational range for climbing. “I think if people are able to achieve six to 10 flights of exercise on stairs a day, that that would be a good target,” he told NPR
