Test your heart health by climbing stairs

-

 

Test your heart health by climbing stairs





Climbing four flights of stairs in less than a minute indicates good heart health, according to research presented at EACVI -- Best of Imaging 2020, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

"The stairs test is an easy way to check your heart health," said study author Dr. Jesús Peteiro, a cardiologist at University Hospital A Coruña, Spain. "If it takes you more than one-and-a-half minutes to ascend four flights of stairs, your health is suboptimal, and it would be a good idea to consult a doctor."

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between a daily activity -- i.e., climbing stairs -- and the results obtained from exercise testing in a laboratory. "The idea was to find a simple and inexpensive method of assessing heart health," said Dr. Peteiro. "This can help physicians triage patients for more extensive examinations."

The study included 165 symptomatic patients referred for exercise testing because of known or suspected coronary artery disease. Symptoms included chest pain or shortness of breath during exertion. Participants walked or ran on a treadmill, gradually increasing the intensity and continuing until exhaustion. Exercise capacity was measured as metabolic equivalents (METs).2 After resting for 15 to 20 minutes, patients were asked to climb four flights of stairs (60 stairs) at a fast pace without stopping, but also without running, and the time was recorded.

The researchers analyzed the relationship between METs achieved during exercise testing and the time it took to climb four flights of stairs. Patients who climbed the stairs in less than 40-45 seconds achieved more than 9-10 Mets. Previous studies have shown that 10 METs during an exercise test is linked with a low mortality rate (1% or less per year, or 10% in 10 years). In contrast, patients who took 1.5 minutes or longer to climb the stairs achieved less than 8 METs, translating to a mortality rate of 2-4% per year, or 30% in 10 years.

During the treadmill test, the researchers also generated images of the heart to assess its function during exercise. If the heart normally works during exercise, this indicates a low likelihood of coronary artery disease. They then compared these findings to the results of the stair climb. Some 58% of patients who completed the stair climb in more than 1.5 minutes had abnormal heart function during the treadmill examination. In contrast, just 32% of those who climbed the stairs in less than one minute had abnormal heart function during the treadmill examination.

Dr. Peteiro noted that the correlation between the stairs time and exercise capacity (i.e., METs) would be similar in the general population. But the corresponding mortality rates and heart function by imaging would be more favorable than for patients with symptoms and suspected or confirmed coronary artery disease.



Comments

  1. Hans OttoMarch 21, 2021 at 3:58 PM

    I saw a health promotion on a herbalist from West Africa who prepares herbal medicines to cure all sorts of diseases including HIV and many others sickness, I first doubted It was not true but decided to try, when I contacted this herbal physician so lucky I was cure right now am so happy don't lose hope to contact him on time
    via his e-mail, dr.chalaherbalhome@gmail.com or you can visit his website on https://
    drchalaherbalhome.godaddysites.com or https://mywa.link/dr.chalaherbalhome i was totally cure from the virus
    All THANKS TO YOU DR,CHALA FOR HELPING ME GET MY HAPPINESS BACK ������❤️❤️❤️

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PEOPLE WITH OBESITY BURN LESS CALORIES DURING THE DAY

-
Image
  PEOPLE WITH OBESITY BURN LESS CALORIES DURING THE DAY Building on prior studies with healthy-weight participants, the new research includes different body sizes.         New research indicates that weight influences how and when bodies burn energy. An Oregon Health & Science University study published in the journal  Obesity  found people who have a healthy weight use more energy during the day, when most people are active and eat, while those who are obese spend more energy during the night when most people sleep. The study also found that during the day, those with obesity have higher levels of the hormone insulin -- a sign that the body is working harder to use glucose, an energy-packed sugar. "It was surprising to learn how dramatically the timing of when our bodies burn energy differed in those with obesity," said the study's first author, Andrew McHill, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the OHSU School of Nursing and the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health
Read more

WHAT CAUSES ITCHING, AND WHAT STOPS IT?

-
Image
  WHAT CAUSES ITCHING, AND WHAT STOPS IT?         It can be a relief to scratch the occasional itch, but when itch gets out of control, it can become a severe health problem. How does the body know when to stop? Scientists at UC San Francisco are getting close to an answer. In a breakthrough that could transform how doctors treat conditions from eczema to allergies, they have discovered a feedback loop centered on a single immune protein called IL-31 that causes the urge to itch and dials back nearby inflammation. The findings, published on October 13th in  Science Immunology , lay the groundwork for a new generation of drugs that interact more intelligently with the body's innate self-regulating ability. Previous approaches suggested that IL-31 signals itch and promotes skin inflammation. However, the UCSF team discovered that nerve cells, or neurons, that respond to IL-31, triggering a scratch, also prevent immune cells from overreacting and causing more widespread irritation. &q
Read more

A VEGAN DIET IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY

-
Image
  A VEGAN DIET IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY         In a study with 22 pairs of identical twins, Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues have found that a vegan diet improves cardiovascular health in as little as eight weeks. Although it's well-known that eating less meat improves cardiovascular health, diet studies often need to be enhanced by genetic differences, upbringing, and lifestyle choices. By studying identical twins, however, the researchers were able to control for genetics and limit the other factors, as the twins grew up in the same households and reported similar lifestyles. "Not only did this study provide a groundbreaking way to assert that a vegan diet is healthier than the conventional omnivore diet, but the twins were also a riot to work with," said Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor and a professor of medicine. "They dressed the same, they talked the same, and they had a banter betwe
Read more