One of the biggest risk factors is not getting enough exercise\u00a0\u2014 and most adults<\/a>\u00a0don\u2019t get enough. Official recommendations call for 75 to 150 minutes of physical exercise a week.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why, in recent years, experts have been looking more into what\u2019s called a micro-workout or exercise snack. These don\u2019t ask people to carve out time to change, drive to the gym, and do a dedicated workout \u2014 it\u2019s all about adding more movement to your everyday life.<\/p>\n Take the simple swap of taking the stairs over the elevator, which this new research<\/a> examines.<\/p>\n \u201cTaking the stairs is a practical and often overlooked way to build physical activity into daily life,\u201d said author Vassilios Vassiliou.\u201cChoosing to take the stairs offers a realistic, scalable intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n Vassiliou and his team looked at data from nine studies involving almost half a million participants.<\/p>\n They found that people who often climbed stairs had a 39% lower risk of dying from heart-related issues, and 24% less likely to die from any cause, compared to people who didn\u2019t climb the stairs often.<\/p>\n How many stairs make a difference<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need 20 minutes on a StairMaster.<\/p>\n Researchers believe that adding just six flights of stairs (60-70 stairs) \u2014 which should take less than three minutes \u2014\u00a0can decrease risk of heart disease.<\/p>\n More is better, they found, but adding any additional movement has benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cEven one- to two-minute bursts of movement performed several times throughout the day can add up and may be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events and death,\u201d cardiologist Paul Drury told Medical News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stair climbing is a vigorous exercise, and a great way to do \u201csprint interval exercise.\u201d Just make sure to start slow for a few minutes to warm up.<\/p>\n How it works is rather than climbing your six flights or more at once at your own pace, you push yourself to climb as many stairs as you can in 30 seconds, then rest for two minutes. Repeat for six rounds.<\/p>\n This exercise model was shown in a recent study<\/a> to release all sorts of helpful proteins in the blood that boost heart health and protect against obesity and diabetes. Other research shows<\/a> it can help with cardiorespiratory fitness, or how well the heart distributes oxygen during exercise.<\/p>\n Stair climbing isn\u2019t for everyone<\/p>\n Researchers note that stair climbing puts pressure on the joints and could aggravate arthritis and hurt people with joint damage. People with heart and lung conditions that can flare up should also avoid it, as well as anyone who has balance or coordination issues.<\/p>\n There are lower impact alternatives to get moving, like brisk walking, bodyweight squats, and stretching that can be done during your day.<\/p>\n \u201cCardiovascular exercise does not have to come exclusively from a structured workout,\u201d said Drury. \u201cThe important message is to find safe ways to move more and sit less. Even brief periods of activity can be a meaningful part of an overall strategy for protecting cardiovascular health.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Have a change of heart. Research shows a simple swap in your daily life could keep your heart…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[674,337,97,8982,5445,1492,673],"class_list":["post-845503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-exercise","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-heart","tag-heart-attacks","tag-heart-disease","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/overweight-man-watching-tv-couch-140783404.jpg\")
More than half of Americans don\u2019t get enough exercise. Tracy King \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n![\"Elderly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/elderly-man-experiencing-chest-pain-140783403.jpg\")
Avoid heart issues by adding more movement to your daily life. Daniel \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n