Scientific research makes it abundantly clear that living a primarily sedentary life is detrimental to heart health. People who are sedentary for more than 23 hours a week have a 37% greater risk of cardiovascular disease. To keep your heart healthy, the American Heart Association recommends engaging in at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of heart-pumping physical activity a week.
While exercising is generally good for heart health, there is an exercise habit that cardiologists warn people to be careful with, especially if they haven’t worked out in a while.
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If you haven’t worked out in a while, Dr. Megan Kamath, MD, a cardiologist at UCLA Health, says to avoid going straight into high-intensity exercise, which means short bursts of maximum effort exercise that significantly raises heart rate. “Going from zero activity to intense working out can be detrimental to heart health and put strain on the heart muscle,” she says. Dr. Kamath explains that the heart is a muscle and needs to be strengthened and conditioned regularly. “Starting something immediately that is high intensity can overwhelm the heart—and the rest of the body too,” she says.
Dr. Sawalla Guseh, MD, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, also says that going from living a primarily sedentary lifestyle to high-intensity exercise can be dangerous for some. “For the average person, all exercise is good. But if you haven’t worked out in a while and you want to do a high-intensity workout, there is some risk there,” he says. Dr. Guseh explains that it’s a risk because you don’t know your level of heart health. “For example, there could be a silent heart blockage that you don’t know about because you’ve never exercised hard enough to really feel that chest pain,” he says.
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Dr. Mohanakrishnan Sathyamoorthy, MD, FACC, a cardiologist and the Chair of Internal Medicine at Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, also says that high-intensity exercise can be dangerous if you don’t know if you have any underlying health conditions. “Very high intensity training puts a significant strain on the heart. The younger we are, the more tolerable this may be. However, as we age some of us can develop ‘silent’ cardiac disease, that when subjected to these high stresses can lead to events. This is why it’s best to get checked out if your heart is set on these types of activities,” he says.
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A Safer Way to Exercise
Instead of going from no exercise to high intensity exercise, all three cardiologists say that a safer approach is to gradually increase how intense your exercise is. Dr. Guseh advocates for starting with “zone 2” cardio, which is exercise done at a moderate intensity level, maintaining a heart rate of between 60% and 70% of your maximum heart rate. Sticking with the American Heart Association’s recommendations, Dr. Sathyamoorthy recommends 30 minutes of low to moderate intensity exercise that involves aerobic activity five days a week.
Dr. Guseh says that one misconception about heart health and exercise is that people with an existing heart condition or past history of heart attack or stroke shouldn’t exercise. “Over the last 10 years, cardiologists—especially sports cardiologists—have learned that even if someone has heart disease, they can exercise or play competitive sports as long as they are closely monitored,” he says.
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Whether you have an existing heart condition, past history of cardiovascular events (such as heart attack and stroke) or just haven’t exercised in a while, all three cardiologists say the best way to approach exercise is to meet with a cardiologist for guidelines specific to you as an individual and to gradually increase how intensely you are exercising. Especially if you have had a heart attack in the past, Dr. Guseh acknowledges that exercising can be anxiety-inducing because it increases heart rate, but that doesn’t mean it should be avoided. A cardiologist can help you decipher between a heart rate increase that is beneficial versus one that is cause for concern.
Exercise is absolutely important for heart health. But the key is increasing your intensity slowly. As Dr. Sathyamoorthy says, “Steady pace wins the race!”
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Sources
Dr. Megan Kamath, MD, cardiologist at UCLA HealthDr. Sawalla Guseh, MD, cardiologist at Massachusetts General HospitalDr. Mohanakrishnan Sathyamoorthy, MD, FACC, cardiologist and the Chair of Internal Medicine at Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University Read More Details
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