There are many ways to keep your heart healthy. Changes in lifestyle, diet, and exercise are effective means to keep the heart healthy and improve your overall fitness. Exercise for 30 minutes, per day, or regularly helps you to improve fitness, lower cholesterol, and reduces blood pressure. 

The risk of heart diseases gets doubled when there is no physical activity due to a sedentary lifestyle. A sedentary lifestyle and no physical activity is as damaging as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking. 

You can reverse or prevent the risk of heart diseases by changing your routine and eating habits. Research studies show that pairing regular exercise with a healthy diet is the best way to reverse and prevent heart diseases. It is best to consult your doctor if you are facing any issues.  Doctors will advise you better exercise according to your condition.  

 

What happens with exercise?

 

As exercise gives strength to your muscles, in the same way, exercise helps your heart muscles to become more efficient and pump the blood more efficiently throughout the body. So with each beat, the heart pushes more blood and keeps your blood pressure under control. 

 

The exercise can also provide other benefits other than lowering the risk of heart disease, such as 

• Lower the risk of osteoporosis 
• Improve mood 
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Lowers the risk of cancer 
• Improve sleep 
• Provide more energy¹ 

 

Benefits of exercise on heart health 

 

Lower blood pressure

 

The efficiency of a healthy heart is better because, with each beat, a healthy heart pushes out more blood. That reduces the stress on the heart and the surrounding arteries of the heart. Cardiovascular exercises are beneficial to control and lower blood pressure. If you are not hypertensive then exercise may also minimize the chances of hypertension with the advancing age. 

 

Improve the flow of blood 

 

 The flow of blood is improved in the small vessels around the heart due to regular physical exercise or cardio-based physical activity.  The chances of heart attack are minimum when circulation is better. More physical connections between small blood vessels are made by the body due to physical exercise. That provides more ways for the blood to travel.  

 

Improve workout efficiency

 

 Your body needs time to adjust when you start a new workout routine like cardio activity.  To adjust to the faster pace your body needs time. With the routine workout, your body pulls needed oxygen from your blood during exercise. People who have a routine of regular workouts have better performance of the heart under stress. Regular cardio helps your body to recover more quickly after exercise. 

 

 Lower cholesterol

 

Many research studies explain that there is mark improvement in cholesterol levels with exercise. It reduces bad cholesterol (LDL) and increases the amount of good cholesterol (HDL). 

 

 Decrease risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes

 

It has been observed by many studies that regular exercise reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by 21% in men and 29% in women. Regular exercise also reduces the chances of stroke. Regular exercise is also beneficial to control high blood sugar levels. It keeps the blood sugar level in the normal range and reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes.  

 

Reduce the incidence of a heart arrhythmia:

 

AFib is a common rhythm problem of the heart. The risk of AFib increases five times with stroke and blood clots. According to the Journal of American Medical Association, weight-loss strategies, diet, and regular exercises prevent AFib and also reduces the severity of the disease.  The American Heart Association explains that the chances of AFib remain half in individuals who do high-intensity regular exercise daily. 

 

 Promote other heart-healthy habits

 

The American Heart Association explains that regular exercise is helpful to improve your mood, relieve stress, maintain a healthy weight, and make better nutrition choices². 

 

How Much exercise is enough?

 

The American Heart Association recommends that 30-minute exercise almost five times a week proves to be successful for lowering the risk of heart diseases and improves your overall health.  They explain "physical activity" as anything that moves your body and burns calories.  This includes biking, swimming, walking, playing sports, climbing stairs, and jogging. 

Something is better than nothing, all studies prove this thing right, some exercise is better than none. Studies also show that the risk of heart diseases is 14% less than in people who engage in 150-minute workouts per week. A 10-minute workout in a day can also be beneficial for your heart health³. 

It is necessary to consult your doctor before starting an exercise program if you haven’t been active for a long time or diagnosed with coronary artery disease.  They can help you choose activities that lower the risk of injuries and improve heart health⁴. 

 

 

References

 

1. Exercise helps your heart. [internet]. [cited 2020 September 10]; Available from  https://wa.kaiserpermanente.org/healthAndWellness?item=%2Fcommon%2FhealthAndWellness%2Fconditions%2FheartDisease%2FexerciseBenefit.html
2. 7 ways your heart benefits from exercise. [internet]. [cited 2020 September 10]; Available from  https://www.eehealth.org/blog/2018/05/how-your-heart-benefits-from-exercise/
3. Can Exercise Reverse or Prevent Heart Disease? [internet]. [cited 2020 September 10]; Available from  https://www.healthline.com/health/heart-disease/exercise#How-Much-Is-Enough?
4. Exercise benefits for heart. [internet]. [cited 2020 September 10]; Available from  https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hw114892

 

 

 

 

 

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