Risk of Heart Disease
For many reasons, heart-healthy foods and regular exercise can keep us healthy.
Without these two factors, our health can rapidly decline.
Heart disease is the number one leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (3).
Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease. Coronary heart disease is caused by a buildup of plaque in the walls of your arteries.
When the plaque builds up over time, it can narrow the artery and restrict blood flow. This is called atherosclerosis.
If the coronary arteries cannot supply the heart with blood, there is a high risk of heart failure and stroke.
Along with atherosclerosis, high cholesterol increases the chance of heart attack and stroke.
Cholesterol is used to build healthy cells, but too much LDL or bad cholesterol can worsen your artery condition, and damage the blood vessels.
Too much buildup of cholesterol can obstruct blood flow, and increase blood pressure, another cause of heart disease.
Another factor to look out for is triglycerides.
Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood that is composed of glycerol and a trio of fatty acids.
When triglycerides aren’t used for energy, they are stored as fat and can increase the risk of obesity and heart disease.
What Does the Stair-Climbing Test Assess?
As mentioned in the previous study, the subject’s heart health was measured in MET’s.
MET’s are a measure of exercise capacity based on oxygen consumption, similar to VO2max.
Luckily, there is a direct correlation between MET’s and VO2max that allows us to apply this test to our own health.
VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen that can you can use during physical activity. (The higher, the better!)
In this particular study, the patient’s heart health was determined based on the number of stairs they could climb in a minute.
The exercise test could also be used as a good indicator of leg strength and muscular endurance.
