Changing one thing about this everyday task cuts heart disease risk in half, says a new study

Heart disease kills more Americans than any other condition, claiming about 941,652 lives in 2022. That’s nearly one out of every five deaths in the United States.

A new analysis says you can cut that danger in half simply by quickening everyday chores, and it does not require a gym membership.

Emmanuel Stamatakis of the University of Sydney led the project that quietly tracked more than 24,000 self‑described non‑exercisers with wrist‑worn motion sensors for a week. 

Everyday movement and heart disease

Most people think of exercise as planned workouts, yet the trackers revealed that tiny bursts of motion during routine tasks, from carrying groceries to scrubbing a tub, still raise the heart rate.

Each little surge counts toward the 150 minutes of moderate activity that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends every week.

Researchers call this incidental physical activity (IPA), a catch‑all for movement that happens naturally while living, working, or commuting.

IPA sidesteps the cost, travel, and time barriers that keep roughly three in five U.S. adults from meeting exercise guidelines.

By contrast, staying seated for long stretches lets blood sugar and blood pressure creep upward, feeding cardiovascular disease (CVD). Over time those changes stiffen arteries and invite clots that trigger heart attacks or strokes.

Previous large‑scale work shows that women who combine at least three different household or leisure activities cut CVD risk by forty percent compared with women who stick to only one type of movement.

Heart disease and movement

The Sydney team mined data from the UK Biobank, a massive project linking health records with lifestyle tracking. Participants averaged 62 years old and reported no structured workouts, yet their trackers captured every ten‑second burst of motion. 

An artificial‑intelligence model sorted each snippet into light, moderate, or vigorous effort. The scientists then waited almost eight years to see who suffered a heart event or died. Hospital records confirmed 908 major cardiac events and 223 cardiovascular deaths in that time.

Crunching the numbers showed an L‑shaped curve: risk plummeted quickly with the first bits of effort, then leveled off.

Daily totals of just 24 minutes at a moderate clip or 4 to 5 minutes at a vigorous clip predicted roughly fifty percent fewer heart attacks or strokes compared with people who mostly ambled.

Martin Gibala of McMaster University, who was not involved, called the work “a solid piece of evidence that even brief bursts matter.”

How fast is fast enough

Moderate intensity means you can talk but not sing, like pushing a vacuum cleaner briskly or climbing stairs with purpose. Vigorous intensity steals your breath so that only a few words fit between gasps.

In practical terms, hurrying up two flights of stairs, hauling laundry in double‑time, or sprint‑walking to the mailbox three or four times a day fills that five‑minute vigorous quota. Those minutes do not need to be consecutive; the study counted them whenever they appeared.

Stamatakis’ group calculated health “exchange rates.” One vigorous minute matched about three moderate minutes or nearly forty‑five light minutes for heart protection. That conversion helps people who dislike huffing and puffing find an alternative pace and duration.

Adding some pep to your step

Turn a slow sweep into a speed sweep by widening your stance and pushing the broom in long strokes. This bumps effort into the moderate zone without special gear.

Carry grocery bags one at a time up the driveway and time yourself. A shorter trip each night builds a habit of pacing.

Swap the elevator for the stairs on the way to your apartment or office. The extra sixty seconds of climbing can replace a two‑minute jog later. Gardening can count too.

Racing the timer while pulling weeds or raking leaves lifts heart rate beyond the comfortable chatting zone. Small tweaks spread through the day avoid sweating through clothes, a leading barrier cited in surveys.

Future of heart disease prevention

IPA does not replace structured workouts, which improve muscle strength, balance, and mental health in ways chores cannot.

Yet for millions who struggle to meet formal goals, brisk chores close part of the gap and still leave room for weekend hikes or bike rides.

The American Heart Association reminds us that eighty percent of cardiac events are preventable through lifestyle choices like diet, activity, and smoking cessation. Quick chores could be the lowest‑cost intervention of them all.

Doctors say the findings dovetail with long‑standing advice to break up sitting with movement. Every hour of desk work should end with a brief spell of standing or walking, and adding intensity multiplies the benefit.

The Biobank cohort was mostly White and middle‑aged, so future studies need to follow diverse younger groups to confirm the effect.

Scientists also hope to test whether digital nudges, such as phone alerts, can prompt timely bursts of movement.

Meanwhile, public‑health campaigns may soon update guidelines to highlight IPA alongside formal exercise, making the message clearer for busy parents and older adults with mobility concerns.

The study is published in Circulation.

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