When we suffer from heart disease, of any type, cardiologists insist on the importance of exercising regularly, even more so than in people without these serious pathologies. Physical activity can help strengthen the heart muscleand help control blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which will mean that we will be more protected against possible unexpected events.
Nowadays, you hear a lot from trainers and doctors about the importance of practicing strength exercises, those that provide resistance and burn more calories. However, in the case of patients with some type of heart problem, the exercises that are recommended are not strength exercises, but the aerobics.
The importance of exercise in heart problems
As the Medlineplus experts explain, it is very important to exercise regularly when you have heart disease. Exercise can strengthen the myocardium (heart muscle). It can also help you stay more active without chest pain or other symptoms.
Exercise can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and also control blood sugar levels. To the contribute to weight lossphysical activity will cause a greater state of well-being in general, and in people with some health problems in particular.
Of course, when there are underlying cardiac problems, the type of exercise must be specific, so as not to put patients at risk, and the best person who can tell us which exercises are best for us is our doctor. Even so, as a general recommendation on which most cardiologists agree, Aerobic activities are the most indicated.
What exercise should those with heart problems do?
When we talk about aerobic exercises, those that increase resistance by keeping the heart pumping for an extended period, we are talking about activities such as walk, dance, swim, row, skate, skiing, light jogging, cycling or working out in the gym with the elliptical machine, for example. The ideal is to practice one of them every day, although if this is not possible, 3 or 4 times a week could be enough.
The importance of stretching and taking breaks in sports
With aerobic exercises for patients with cardiovascular problems, it is always highly recommended spend a few minutes stretchingbecause in this way we will be able to warm up the muscle and the heart before making the controlled effort.
In the same way that you have to stretch before doing an aerobic exercise, at the end you should dedicate the last few minutes to continue walking (whatever the exercise chosen) but at a much slower pace. In patients with heart disease, cardiologists recommend allow yourself intermediate rest times to avoid extreme fatigue, always inadvisable.
The clothes to practice our aerobic exercises must always be comfortable, and we must learn to breathe correctlyconsciously, to obtain all the possible benefits for the heart.
References
Stephan D. Fihn, James C. Blankenship, Karen P. Alexander, John A. Bittl, John G. Byrne, Barbara J. Fletcher, Gregg C. Fonarow, Richard A. Lange, Glenn N. Levine, Thomas M. Maddox, Srihari S. Naidu, E. Magnus Ohman, Peter K. Smith. ‘Update of the guideline for the diagnosis and management of patients with stable ischemic heart disease: a report.’ American College of Cardiology. Published in National Library of Medicine https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25070666/
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