Choosing the stairs instead of the elevator could be a simple way to protect your heart, with a new review linking regular stair-climbing to substantially lower risks of cardiovascular and overall mortality.

Researchers found that regular stair-climbing was associated with a 39 per cent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 24 per cent lower risk of death from any cause.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, also showed that people who regularly climbed stairs were less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, stroke and heart failure.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in the United Kingdom analysed nine studies involving 480,479 people aged 35 to 84.

Participants included both healthy adults and people with a history of heart disease, while 53 per cent were women. The median follow-up period was 14 years.

One analysis suggested that the potential cardiovascular benefit became particularly noticeable at around six flights of stairs, or roughly 60 to 70 steps a day.

The researchers cautioned, however, that the review could not establish a precise amount of stair-climbing required to protect the heart.

Study author Sophie Paddock of the University of East Anglia explained: “Some of the studies we looked at showed that the more stairs climbed, the greater the health benefits. But even small changes had a measurable impact.”

Stair-climbing is considered a relatively vigorous form of physical activity and can quickly raise the heart rate. For people who struggle to find time for formal exercise, incorporating short bursts of activity into everyday routines could therefore be useful.

Cardiologist Paul Drury, who was not involved in the research, said even one- or two-minute bursts of movement performed several times throughout the day can add up and may be associated with lower cardiovascular risk.

Regular physical activity can improve cardiovascular fitness, help control body weight and blood pressure, and reduce several other risk factors for heart disease.

Prof Vassilios Vassiliou, one of the study authors, said: “Taking the stairs is a practical and often overlooked way to build physical activity into daily life.”

Researchers say future studies using wearable activity trackers could provide a more objective picture of stair-climbing and its relationship with cardiovascular health.

Many of the studies included in the review relied on participants to report how often they climbed stairs, which could introduce inaccuracies in the data.

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The studies also measured stair-climbing differently. Some assessed stair use at home, while others considered people’s ability to climb stairs rather than the amount they actually climbed.

These differences make it difficult to determine exactly how much stair-climbing is needed to produce a specific health benefit.

There is also the possibility that people who regularly choose the stairs are already more physically active or healthier in other ways, making it difficult to determine how much of the observed benefit can be attributed specifically to stair-climbing.

Despite these limitations, the findings reinforce the importance of incorporating more physical activity into everyday life.