Stair climbing offers significant cardiovascular and muscular benefits for heart patients
McMaster University
A
team of McMaster University researchers who studied heart patients found that
stair-climbing routines, whether vigorous or moderate, provide significant
cardiovascular and muscular benefits.
The
findings, published in closely related studies in the journals Medicine
& Science in Sports & Exercise and Frontiers, address
the most frequently cited barriers to exercise: time, equipment and access to
gym facilities.
"Brief,
vigorous stair-climbing and traditional moderate intensity exercise both
changed fitness, which is a key predictor of mortality after a cardiac
event," says Maureen MacDonald, one of the lead researchers on both
studies and a professor in McMaster's Department of Kinesiology.
"We've
shown stair-climbing is a safe, efficient and feasible option for cardiac
rehabilitation, which is particularly relevant during the pandemic when many
people don't have the option to exercise in a gym," she says.
While it is widely known that exercise and lifestyle changes reduce the risk of secondary cardiovascular disease, statistics suggest less than a quarter of all cardiac patients adhere to fitness programs.
Researchers
worked closely with the Cardiac Health and Rehabilitation Centre at the
Hamilton General Hospital to develop an exercise protocol that did not require
specialized equipment or monitoring and could be easily performed outside a
laboratory.
Participants
with coronary artery disease who had undergone a cardiac procedure were
randomly assigned either to traditional moderate-intensity exercise or vigorous
stair climbing: three rounds of six flights of 12 stairs, separated by recovery
periods of walking, with participants selecting their own stepping pace.
Researchers
compared the results and found that individuals who had done traditional
exercise and those who had done stair-climbing both increased their
cardiorespiratory fitness after four weeks of supervised training and
maintained those levels for an additional eight weeks of unsupervised training.
They
also reported substantial muscular improvement.
"These
patients who had undergone a coronary bypass or stent procedure had muscle that
was compromised, compared to age-matched healthy controls," explained
Stuart Phillips, a co-author of the studies and a professor in the Department
of Kinesiology at McMaster who oversaw the analysis of muscle tissue taken
during the study.
Previously,
there had been very few studies of the impact of exercise on cardiac patients'
muscle specifically. This analysis shows heart patients can still repair and
build lost muscle.
"Even
in just a short period, whether it was moderate intensity, continuous training
or high-intensity stair climbing, there were beneficial adaptations in muscles
after a cardiac procedure," Phillips says. "The improvements were
clear."
CORRECTION: How many elevators are there in Charlestown? Four Six: the Washington Trust building on Old Post Road, the Charlestown Police Station, the new wing at Arrowhead Dental and one private residence. Add two more: The Charlestown Fire District's Station 1 on South County Trail and the new Narragansett Tribe medical center on Old Post Road.
Any more? If you know of others, please let me know by e-mail. - Will Collette
