Exercise and heart disease:
Not getting enough physical activity can lead to heart disease—even for people who have no other risk factors. It can also increase the likelihood of developing other heart disease risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and Type II diabetes.Lack of exercise causes heart disease: Physical inactivity increases the risk of heart and circulatory diseases:
Being inactive can lead to fatty material building up in your arteries (the blood vessels that carry blood to your organs). If the arteries that carry blood to your heart get damaged and clogged, it can lead to a heart attack.
Exercising regularly is a key strategy in preventing heart disease. But the story doesn't end there. A growing number of statistics link physical activity and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
Heart disease (Cardiovascular disease CVD) is linked to physical inactivity or lack of exercise:
Physical inactivity is a significant risk factor for CVD itself. It ranks similarly to cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol.
Diseases come from lack of exercises:
Not getting enough physical activity comes with high health and financial costs. It can contribute to heart disease, Type II diabetes, several cancers, and obesity. In addition, low levels of physical activity are associated with $117 billion in health care costs every year.
Getting regular exercise when you have heart disease is important. Exercise can make your heart muscle stronger. It may also help you be more active without chest pain or other symptoms. Exercise may help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol.
Exercise can reverse damage to sedentary, aging hearts and help prevent risk of future heart failure -- if it's enough exercise, and if it's begun in time, according to a new study by cardiologists.
Exercises good for heart disease:
A combination of aerobic workouts (which, depending on your fitness level, can include walking, running, swimming, and other vigorous heart-pumping exercise) and strength training (weight lifting, resistance training) is considered best for heart health.
Heart problems get worse with strenuous exercise:
Although regular exercise helps strengthen the heart and lowers the risk of cardiovascular problems long-term, strenuous exertion does increase immediate risk for heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest.
Additional benefits of exercise: Improves the muscles' ability to pull oxygen out of the blood, reducing the need for the heart to pump more blood to the muscles. Reduces stress hormones that can put an extra burden on the heart. Works like a beta blocker to slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure.
With regular exercise, you should start to notice an increase in your aerobic capacity in about 8 to 12 weeks, Traskie says.That means your heart and lungs are better able to shuttle oxygen to your muscles.
Turns out, too much of it may actually put your heart at risk. According to a new study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, people who exercise well above the current recommendations 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week may actually be at higher risk of early heart disease.
The heart is unable to regenerate heart muscle after a heart attack and lost cardiac muscle is replaced by scar tissue. Scar tissue does not contribute to cardiac contractile force and the remaining viable cardiac muscle is thus subject to a greater hemodynamic burden.The heart does have some ability to make new muscle and possibly repair itself. The rate of regeneration is so slow, though, that it can't fix the kind of damage caused by a heart attack. That's why the rapid healing that follows a heart attack creates scar tissue in place of working muscle tissue.
Seven powerful ways you can strengthen your heart:-
•Get moving. Your heart is a muscle and, as with any muscle, exercise is what strengthens it.
•Quit smoking. Quitting smoking is tough.
•Lose weight. Losing weight is more than just diet and exercise.
•Eat heart-healthy foods.
•Don't forget the chocolate.
•Don't overeat.
•Don't stress.
Three main exercises that boost heart health :-
Being physically active is a major step toward good heart health. It’s one of your most effective tools for strengthening the heart muscle, keeping your weight under control and warding off the artery damage from high cholesterol, high blood sugar and high blood pressure that can lead to heart attack or stroke.
It’s also true that different types of exercise are needed to provide complete fitness. “Aerobic exercise and resistance training are the most important for heart health,” says Johns Hopkins exercise physiologist Kerry J. Stewart. “Although flexibility doesn’t contribute directly to heart health, it’s nevertheless important because it provides a good foundation for performing aerobic and strength exercises more effectively.”
(1) Aerobic exercises:-
Aerobic exercise in particular can improve circulation, reduce heart disease factors, and strengthen the heart and cardiovascular system. Myth: You have to exercise a lot if you want a healthy heart. Fact: Going from sedentary to some exercise will keep your heart healthy.
Aerobic exercise improves circulation, which results in lowered blood pressure and heart rate, Stewart says. In addition, it increases your overall aerobic fitness, as measured by a treadmill test, for example, and it helps your cardiac output (how well your heart pumps). Aerobic exercise also reduces the risk of Type II diabetes and, if you already live with diabetes, helps you control your blood glucose.
Ideally, at least 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week.
Examples of aerobic exercises: Brisk walking, running, swimming, cycling, playing tennis and jumping rope. Heart-pumping aerobic exercise is the kind that doctors have in mind when they recommend at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity.
(2) Resistance training: Resistance training has a more specific effect on body composition, Stewart says. For people who are carrying a lot of body fat including a big belly, which is a risk factor for heart disease, it can help reduce fat and create leaner muscle mass. Research shows that a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance work may help raise HDL (good) cholesterol and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.
At least two nonconsecutive days per week of resistance training is a good rule of thumb, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
Examples of resistance training exercises: Working out with free weights (such as hand weights, dumbbells or barbells), on weight machines, with resistance bands or through body-resistance exercises, such as push-ups, squats and chin-ups.
(3) Stretching, Flexibility and Balance:
Flexibility workouts, such as stretching, don’t directly contribute to heart health. What they do is benefit musculoskeletal health, which enables you to stay flexible and free from joint pain, cramping and other muscular issues. That flexibility is a critical part of being able to maintain aerobic exercise and resistance training, says Stewart.
“If you have a good musculoskeletal foundation, that enables you to do the exercises that help your heart,” he says. As a bonus, flexibility and balance exercises help maintain stability and prevent falls, which can cause injuries that limit other kinds of exercise.
Every day and before and after other exercise.
Examples of Stretching, Flexibility and Balance: : Your doctor can recommend basic stretches you can do at home, or you can find YouTube videos to follow though check with your so doctor if you’re concerned about the intensity of the exercise. Tai chi and yoga also improve these skills, and classes are available in many communities.
Heart failure signs and symptoms may include:
•Shortness of breath with activity or when lying down
•Fatigue and weakness
•Swelling in the legs, ankles and feet
•Rapid or irregular heartbeat
•Reduced ability to exercise
•Persistent cough or wheezing with white or pink blood-tinged mucus
•Swelling of the belly area (abdomen)
•Very rapid weight gain from fluid buildup
•Nausea and lack of appetite
•Difficulty concentrating or decreased alertness
•Chest pain if heart failure is caused by a heart attack.
An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a test that records the electrical activity of the heart. The ECG reflects what's happening in different areas of the heart and helps identify any problems with the rhythm or rate of your heart. The ECG is painless and takes around 5-10 minutes to perform.An ECG is pretty accurate at diagnosing many types of heart disease, although it doesn't always pick up every heart problem. You may have a perfectly normal ECG, yet still have a heart condition.
Information compiled by:
Dr. Bhairavsinh Raol
