Exercise for a Healthy Heart
Here are a few important questions about
exercise and how it affects cardiovascular health.
Does Exercise Prevent Heart Disease?
No. Exercising doesn't eliminate heart risk,
but it does reduce it. Point is, physical inactivity is one of the major
modifiable risk factors for heart attacks, the others being cigarette
smoking, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol.
How Much Exercise is Necessary for a Healthier
Heart?
Studies show that people with a low fitness
level are more likely to die prematurely than people with a moderate
level of fitness. So doing moderate-level activities will help to improve
your health. However, to gain optimal exercise benefits for your cardiovascular
fitness, you need to exercise for 30 to 60 minutes, on most days of the
week, at 50-80 percent of your maximum heart rate capacity.
See also Heart Rate and Exercise and
Heart Rate Monitors
Does Exercise Help Women to Improve Heart
Health, as well as Men?
Yes. In fact, health and fitness studies
that have included women show that physically fit women experience even
further reduced rates of death from heart disease than men. For example,
women who don't take exercise have twice the chance of dying from heart
disease as women who do exercise.
How Does Exercise Help Improve Heart Health?
During exercise, the blood vessels that feed
the heart open wider and the concentration of cholestrol within the blood
decreases. Cardiovascular exercise gets the heart beating faster, which
strengthens it's ability to supply oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the
organs and body. Exercise also helps to reduce the effects of fat deposits
within the arteries and blood vessels - deposits that can trigger a heart
attack or stroke.
Is Exercise Helpful After a Heart Attack?
Exercise is important for recovery from heart
problems and helps reduce the risk of another heart attack. But first,
ask your doctor about how and when to start - some hospitals and community
centres also have programs to help heart patients become active again.
Fitness Warning!
If you are unfit, or have a medical condition, always ask your doctor's
advice before embarking on any program of exercise.
Back to Advice
About Exercise and Fitness Programs
Calorie Intake
For information about the calorie content
of popular food and drinks, please visit: Calories
in Food
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