Stair-Climbing May Improve Blood Pressure in Postmenopausal Women

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

A stair-climbing regimen could help lower blood pressure in hypertensive postmenopausal women, according to a small study in Menopause.

Forty-one postmenopausal Korean women with hypertension (systolic BP, 140–179 mm Hg, or diastolic, 90–119 mm Hg) were randomized to either a progressive stair-climbing intervention or no change in activity for 12 weeks. By the end of the study, intervention participants were climbing 192 stairs (12 flights) five times a day, 4 days a week. Stair-climbing was supervised, and participants descended by elevator after each 12-flight climb.

From baseline to the end of the study, the intervention group achieved significant declines in average systolic BP (from 146 to 139 mm Hg) and diastolic BP (from 89 to 86 mm Hg). Intervention participants also had decreases in arterial stiffness and increases in leg muscle strength. Control participants saw no such changes.

Intervention participants reported no adverse effects related to stair-climbing.