Those who have been diagnosed with cardiac problem or those who recently got a heart surgery done must follow a proper heart disease exercise program, as suggested by their health care provider. Exercise plays a critical role in keeping the condition under control. Always remember, there is no permanent cure for cardiac diseases. You can only control or prevent heart disease. However, you must consult your doctor first in order to make sure that the exercises you are performing are safe and will help improve your condition.
Some General Workout Tips
Following are some general workout tips that you are strongly recommended to follow.
• No matter which heart disease exercise program you follow, it is very important for you to make sure that it is properly paced and balanced.
• If because of bad weather, vacation, or illness, you could not perform the exercises for a few days, you should try to ease yourself back into the routine. This means you should not start performing high level activities all of a sudden. Instead, you should start with light exercises and then gradually increase the level.
• You should avoid taking sauna baths or extremely hot and cold showers just after exercise. Be informed that extremely high or low temperatures are not good for the health of your heart. It will only increase the workload on heart, which is already working hard to perform its functions of pumping blood, oxygen, and other essential nutrients to the different vital organs of the body.
• Keep yourself properly hydrated. For example, if you are doing exercise on a hot day, it is always better to drink water even when you are not feeling very thirsty.
• If it is too humid, hot, or cold outside, you should avoid exercising outdoors. Where extreme temperatures will interfere with blood circulation, causing chest pain and shortness of breath, high humidity will cause you to tire more quickly. In such bad weather conditions, you are strongly recommended to carry on with indoor activities only, such as mall walking.
Why Is Exercise So Helpful?
Heart disease exercises can prove to be very helpful in improving your condition in the following ways –
• It builds muscle mass.
• It helps in losing extra weight and fat.
• Exercises also prevent blood clots from occurring and thus improve the circulation of blood.
• It reduces the levels of bad LDL cholesterol.
• It increases good HDL cholesterol.
• It increases good HDL cholesterol by lowering blood pressure.
• It also releases feel-good hormones called endorphins and thus helps in reducing stress and anxiety.
Aerobic activity is probably the best heart disease exercise. There can be different types of aerobic activities, such as dancing, cycling, running, brisk walking, swimming, and even digging your garden. But, in order to get the optimum benefit out of exercises, you must combine it with a balanced heart disease diet of fiber, unsaturated fat, carbohydrates, protein, and vegetables and fruit. You should always check with your health care provider or heart specialist before you start any exercise program.