Cardiologists like Dr. Meshkov have been using “step tests” to assess the heart health of their patients since the 1940s, largely because climbing stairs places a measurable strain on the heart.

Not only research in Revista Española de Cardiología The magazine’s findings confirm this, but there is also a way to do this type of heart health test at home. All you need is a minute of free time and a few flights of stairs. Read on to find out more.

The benefits of climbing stairs for heart health

“Any type of strenuous activity, like climbing stairs, creates a demand for blood and oxygen in your extremities,” says Dr. Meshkov. “And the body responds by increasing the output (of the blood pumped by the heart), delivering more blood and oxygen than would be required at rest.”

He explains that this can happen in two different ways: either by increasing the speed at which blood is pumped (which accounts for the faster heart rate one normally has when exercising) or by increasing the amount of blood pumped out of the left ventricle. “When we are young, these reactions are automatic, but as we get older, this capacity decreases,” he adds.

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So why have stairs become the preferred “device” to test heart health? “When you exercise on an incline, your heart rate is much higher than if you were exercising on a flat surface—your heart is working harder and getting stronger,” Satjit Bhusri, MD, a board-certified cardiologist and founder of Upper East Side Cardiology, previously told Well+Good. “It’s also a great way to lower your blood pressure because over time, your heart will get so strong that it won’t have to work as hard to pump blood throughout the body. Your lungs will also be working much harder than if you were on a flat surface, and will get stronger and fitter.”

Researchers in the Revista Española de Cardiología One study put all this to the test by recruiting 165 people with symptoms of coronary heart disease, such as chest pain or shortness of breath during physical activity, and asking them to walk up four flights of stairs (or 60 steps) in under a minute. Then they looked at their “METs” (or “metabolic equivalents”), which are characterized by the amount of energy your body uses during a given activity.

“The amount of oxygen the heart consumes depends on heart rate and blood pressure, so the MET value is used to determine the risk of a cardiac event in the next ten years,” says Dr. Meshkov.

Through this “stair test,” researchers found that participants who could climb the stairs in less than 45 seconds achieved more than nine to ten METS. Previous studies have also shown that achieving ten METS on an exercise test is associated with a low rate of premature death (one percent or less per year, or ten percent in ten years).

On the other hand, patients who needed more than 1.5 minutes to climb stairs reached a maximum of eight METs, indicating a higher rate of premature death (two to four percent per year or 30 percent in 10 years). This follows a Study 2019² In the study, 12,615 participants had to climb three to four flights of stairs. It was found that those who were unable to do so had a death rate from heart disease that was almost three times higher within five years than those who were able to do so.

“When you exercise on an incline, your heart rate is much higher than if you were exercising on a flat surface – your heart works harder and gets stronger.” —Satjit Bhusri, MD

A stair climbing exercise for home to test your own cardio fitness

So what does this mean for those of us who want to test our cardiovascular health at home? “It’s a pretty good approximation of cardiovascular fitness at a given point in time,” says Dr. Meshkov.

However, he adds that the test’s validity has certain limitations, especially given that the study only included people who had symptoms of heart problems.

“For someone who has no symptoms or shortness of breath and just wants to know how their heart is doing or what their cardiovascular health is like, the stair test could certainly be a good assessment of their overall risk assessment,” he says.

In other words, walking 60 steps in less than a minute can provide some insight into how your heart is functioning, but it should not replace regular stress testing with a cardiologist.

Regardless of what the stair test may or may not tell you about your heart health, it’s still extremely important that you get a solid dose of cardio exercise on a regular basis. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio, like walking, per week or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise, like a cardio dance class, which experts say can improve your lung function, increase the strength of your heart and maximize the efficiency of your skeletal muscles — all things that help the body use oxygen better. Incorporate some cardio exercise into your regular routine, and you’ll be flying up four flights of stairs in no time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is climbing stairs a good exercise?

In short: Yes! Regularly climbing stairs improves your strength, endurance and flexibility, according to Harvard Health Publishing. When climbing stairs, several muscle groups work together (glutes, thighs and calf muscles) and your heart rate increases, which increases your cardiovascular fitness and overall heart health.

FYI: According to the Mayo Clinic, cardio and strength training can help prevent chronic diseases—such as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, certain cancers, and more—in the long term.

Is it good to climb stairs every day?

Taking the stairs every day is definitely good for your health if you are able to do so. In fact, a study in arteriosclerosis One study found a link between climbing 50 steps a day and a 20 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, blood clots and heart attacks.

How many minutes should you climb stairs?

As the study above shows, you don’t need to spend a lot of time climbing stairs to reap the benefits. However, if you want to spend more time climbing stairs, this eight-minute stair-climbing workout is equivalent to running a mile. However, if you’ve never spent much time climbing stairs before, get the green light from your doctor and start slowly—you don’t have to be able to climb stairs for that many minutes at a time right away.