Workout for your Heart Health

Workout for Your Heart Health 

Heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases affect more than 1.5 million Americans each year. Heart disease is the nation’s number one killer among both men and women according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The CDC defines the term heart disease as describing several types of heart conditions, including coronary artery disease, which affect the blood flow to the heart.  Decreased blood flow can cause events like a heart attack or heart failure.  Several health conditions, your lifestyle, and your age and family history can increase your risk for heart disease.  Some of these risk factors like your genetics, are out of your control, but most of the major conditions that increase your chance of heart disease are things you can change and manage yourself.   Most of these risk factors can be controlled with lifestyle choices, which will reduce your risk for heart and cardiovascular diseases.     

Heart disease is sometimes called a “silent killer” because no symptoms may appear before an event like a heart attack, heart failure or an arrhythmia.  Heart attack symptoms can include chest pain or discomfort, upper back or neck pain, indigestion, heartburn, nausea or vomiting, extreme fatigue, upper body discomfort, dizziness, and shortness of breath.  It is important to note that the symptoms of a heart attack are different for men and women.  Women are less likely to experience chest pain that is common in men who are experiencing a heart attack.  Women sometimes have no symptoms at all or only feel nausea and fatigue.  Arrhythmia is a feeling of fluttering in your chest.  The symptoms of heart failure are shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling of the feet, ankles, legs, abdomen, or neck veins.  Knowing the facts about heart disease, as well as the signs, symptoms, and risk factors, can help you take steps to protect your health and seek proper treatment if you need it. 

Exercise and a healthy lifestyle can help prevent or improve many of the major risk factors that contribute to heart disease, including: 

• High blood pressure is a medical condition that happens when the pressure of the blood in your arteries and other blood vessels is too high.  The high pressure can affect your heart and other major organs of your body.  Your doctor can measure your blood pressure, or many drug stores have machines near the pharmacy that will measure your blood pressure.   
• Diabetes causes glucose (sugar) to build up in the blood because your body is either not producing enough insulin, or can’t use its own insulin like it should, to move the glucose from the food you eat to your body’s cells for energy.   
• Unhealthy cholesterol levels.  Cholesterol is a waxy substance made by the liver or found in certain foods.  If we take in more cholesterol than the body can use, the extra cholesterol can build up in the walls of the arteries, including those of the heart.  This leads to narrowing of the arteries and can decrease the blood flow to the heart, brain, kidneys, and other parts of the body.  The only way to know if you have high cholesterol is to get it checked by your health care provider by a simple blood test.   

Lifestyle behaviors that can increase the risk of heart disease include: 

• Unhealthy diet.  Eating too much saturated fat and trans fats have been linked to heart disease and related conditions.  Red meat, fried foods and some packaged/processed foods are high in these fats.  Too much sodium in the diet can raise blood pressure.  Excessive amounts of sugars and starchy carbs can create surges of glucose in your blood stream.  If your body’s insulin can’t keep up with the amount of glucose in your blood, the high levels of glucose and insulin can set the stage for insulin resistance and possibly diabetes.   
• A sedentary lifestyle can lead to heart disease.  Not only does not exercising negatively affect your health, but studies also show that sitting too much during the day can contribute to poor health.   
• Not enough sleep!  Studies have shown that those who get fewer than 6 hours of sleep at night had a 79 percent increased incidence of heart disease than those who slept 8 hours or more. 
• Drinking too much alcohol (more than 1 drink a day for women and more than 2 drinks a day for men) and tobacco use increase the risk to heart disease.   
• Smoking tobacco is another high-risk factor that can lead to heart disease among other health conditions. 
• Excessive stress can also be bad for your health in many ways, including your heart.  Experiment with ways to reduce your stress like mindfulness, more fun with friends or family, yoga, and other exercise. 

What are the best exercises for your heart health? 

The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity (or a combination of both), preferably spread throughout the week.   In addition to this aerobic activity, it is best to also include muscle-strengthening activity (like resistance or weight training) at least twice a week. 

Cardio, short for cardiovascular, (or sometimes called aerobic activity) is exercise for your cardiovascular system which includes your heart and lungs.  Cardio exercise and weight training both help to improve blood flow and lower blood pressure.  Exercise is a key to living a longer and healthier life.   

Just a few of the benefits of cardio exercise: 

• Lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer 
• Increases endurance for daily activities 
• Reduces pain and stiffness 
• Manage high blood pressure and diabetes 
• Improves sleep 
• Improves mood and lowers risk of depression 

Also called aerobic exercise, a cardio workout is any activity that elevates your heart rate and gets you breathing harder.  No matter your level of fitness, there is a type of cardio exercise for you.  Low intensity activities like going for a walk, moderate intensity activities like Zumba and other aerobic dance classes or high intensity exercises like running, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) or plyometrics all count as cardio exercise.  Some prefer to use machines to get their cardio workout done.  Every LivRite Fitness location has many cardio machines for you to use.  (Check out my blog post on cardio machines for more information.) 

All the cardio equipment is equipped with heart rate grips.  When you grip the silver sensors on the handlebars of the machine, it will estimate your current heart rate.  Both hands must grip the bars for your heart rate to register.  It takes 5 consecutive heart beats for your heart rate to register on the machine.  When gripping the pulse handlebars, do not grip tightly.  Keep a loose hold.  Please note:  these heart rate monitors are just estimates and not 100% accurate.  If you feel faint, stop exercising immediately.  Aim to be at 60% - 80% of your maximum heart rate.  (A rough estimate of your maximum heart rate is the equation of 220-your age. For example, if you are a 40-year-old, your estimated maximum heart rate is 180.).  The talk test is another way to gauge if you are working hard enough in your cardio workout.  You should feel out of breath enough that you don’t want to carry on a conversation, but not so winded that you cannot talk.  

The American Heart Association also recommends simply moving more throughout your day.  Get up and move every hour or every other hour for even a minute or two.  Stand up as much as you can and move as much as you can.  Any activity is better than no activity.    

Awareness of the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke, is key to preventing them. Monitoring your risk factors like your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, along with making healthier lifestyle choices will help reduce the likelihood you will be affected by these diseases.  Exercise is an important part of the prevention of heart disease, as well as many other health conditions.  Need help?  Have questions?  Contact a LivRite trainer today!