10 Heart Healthy Exercise Tips Activities as Exercise Can Help Your Heart

 

According to Jennifer Mieres, M.D., American Heart Association (AHA), “to get heart-healthy benefits, you need to get your heart rate up” there are dozens of activities you can do to help your heart. Whether it is a structured exercise program or just part of your daily routine, all physical activity adds up. It’s easy to follow these exercise tips at home, at work, and at play to increase the amount of physical activity in your life.

Tips to help you start a heart healthy exercise plan.

1. Aerobic exercises done 30 minutes a day is excellent for increasing your heart rate. Climbing the stairs, a brisk walk, orbital exercise machine or treadmill, anything to get your heart rate up.  Wii has several fun games such as Wii Sports or Wii Fit Step Aerobics – and its great exercise you can do with your kids. Make it a family affair
2. Any moderate-intensity exercise like swimming, jogging, Pilates and yoga is good. Exercising your heart muscle means exercising your body. You don’t need a gym, just a bit of motivation and a good pair of walking shoes.
3. If you “don’t have time” then fit shorter but more frequent periods of time, like 5-10 minutes several times a day throughout your day. Take the stairs, park your car further away from the door, and definitely count in those house chores such as mowing the lawn, vacuuming, or a short brisk walk around the block at lunch or for a break.
4. If you already do a vigorous aerobic routine or enrolled in an exercise class, then three days a week for 20 minutes a day is good.
5. For adults that are 65 and older or anyone with chronic conditions or limited mobility, you need the same amount of exercise as younger people – the activity can be less intense. Use good judgment and follow your doctor’s advice. See tip #1 and plan to gradually increase activities.
6. Strength training is a great complement to aerobic training and helps to prevent age-related bone and muscle-mass losses. Keep in mind that strength training doesn’t’t increase heart rate but does increase stamina. Use it to target areas where muscle-tone is needed and don’t forget the other muscle groups.
7. With any plan, start strength training slowly and build up to heavier weights and repetitions especially if you are new or out of shape. The old adage “no pain, no gain” is more often inappropriate and can be dangerous.
8. Practice balance exercises to help prevent falls and injuries. Balance techniques are used frequently as exercises in yoga or more simple forms of balancing exercises such as walking heal-to-toe, standing on one foot, or standing up and sitting down without using your hands.
9. Stretching exercises done twice a week helps keep flexibility, which is very important. Consider 10 minutes of stretching twice a week to improve your flexibility
   

   ---

With any exercise program, it’s good to start slowly by warming up, then increasing the pace. A good cooling down afterwards is also equally important. With any new exercise plan, check with your doctor if you are at risk and follow the advice of qualified professionals.

See Heart Healthy – Exercise Tips for busy people for more ideas

Search for more information on Exercise and Fitness

 

Physical Activity & Public Health Guidelines are the most current recommendations created together by the ACSM and AHA.

 

Basic recommendations from ACSM and AHA:
Guidelines for healthy adults under age 65

Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
— Or —
Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
— And —
Do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.

 

Moderate-intensity physical activity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat, yet still being able to carry on a conversation. It should be noted that to lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary. The 30-minute recommendation is for the average healthy adult to maintain health and reduce the risk for chronic disease.

 

Guidelines for adults over age 65
(or adults 50-64 with chronic conditions, such as arthritis)

Do moderately intense aerobic exercise 30 minutes a day, five days a week
— Or —
Do vigorously intense aerobic exercise 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
— And —
Do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, 10-15 repetitions of each exercise twice to three times per week
— And —
If you are at risk of falling, perform balance exercises
— And —
Have a physical activity plan.

http://www.heart.com/10-heart-healthy-exercise-tips.html

Heart Disease Facts

America’s Heart Disease Burden

• About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths.¹
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than half of the deaths due to heart disease in 2009 were in men.¹
• Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing more than 385,000 people annually.¹
• Every year about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack. Of these, 525,000 are a first heart attack and 190,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack.²
• Coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year.³ This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.

Deaths Vary by Ethnicity

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most ethnicities in the United States, including African Americans, Hispanics, and whites. For American Indians or Alaska Natives and Asians or Pacific Islanders, heart disease is second only to cancer. Below are the percentages of all deaths caused by heart disease in 2008, listed by ethnicity.⁴

Race of Ethnic Group	% of Deaths
African Americans	24.5
American Indians or Alaska Natives	18.0
Asians or Pacific Islanders	23.2
Hispanics	20.8
Whites	25.1
All	25.0

Deaths Vary by Geography

During 2007–2009, death rates due to heart disease were highest in the South and lowest in the West.

Early Action is Key

Knowing the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack is key to preventing death, but many people don’t know the signs.

• In a 2005 survey, most respondents—92%—recognized chest pain as a symptom of a heart attack. Only 27% were aware of all major symptoms and knew to call 9-1-1 when someone was having a heart attack.⁵
• About 47% of sudden cardiac deaths occur outside a hospital. This suggests that many people with heart disease don’t act on early warning signs.⁶

Heart attacks have several major warning signs and symptoms:

• Chest pain or discomfort.
• Upper body pain or discomfort in the arms, back, neck, jaw, or upper stomach.
• Shortness of breath.
• Nausea, lightheadedness, or cold sweats.

Americans at Risk

High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. About half of Americans (49%) have at least one of these three risk factors.⁷

Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including:

• Diabetes
• Overweight and obesity
• Poor diet
• Physical inactivity
• Excessive alcohol use

Protect Your Heart

Lowering you blood pressure and cholesterol will reduce your risk of dying of heart disease. Here are some tips to protect your heart:

• Follow your doctor’s instructions and stay on your medications.
• Eat a healthy diet that is low in salt; low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol; and rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Take a brisk 10-minute walk, 3 times a day, 5 days a week.
• Don’t smoke. If you smoke, quit as soon as possible. Visit www.cdc.gov/tobacco and www.smokefree.gov for tips on quitting.

http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

36 Interesting Facts About . . . The Human Heart

1. The average adult heart beats 72 times a minute; 100,000 times a day; 3,600,000 times a year; and 2.5 billion times during a lifetime.^f
2. Though weighing only 11 ounces on average, a healthy heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels each day.^c
3. A kitchen faucet would need to be turned on all the way for at least 45 years to equal the amount of blood pumped by the heart in an average lifetime.^a
4. The volume of blood pumped by the heart can vary over a wide range, from five to 30 liters per minute.^e
5. Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back.^a
6. Because the heart has its own electrical impulse, it can continue to beat even when separated from the body, as long as it has an adequate supply of oxygen.^c
7. The fetal heart rate is approximately twice as fast as an adult’s, at about 150 beats per minute. By the time a fetus is 12 weeks old, its heart pumps an amazing 60 pints of blood a day.^g
8. The heart pumps blood to almost all of the body’s 75 trillion cells. Only the corneas receive no blood supply.^c
9. During an average lifetime, the heart will pump nearly 1.5 million barrels of blood—enough to fill 200 train tank cars.^a
10. Five percent of blood supplies the heart, 15-20% goes to the brain and central nervous system, and 22% goes to the kidneys.^a
11. The “thump-thump” of a heartbeat is the sound made by the four valves of the heart closing.^a
12. The heart does the most physical work of any muscle during a lifetime. The power output of the heart ranges from 1-5 watts. While the quadriceps can produce 100 watts for a few minutes, an output of one watt for 80 years is equal to 2.5 gigajoules.^a
13. The heart begins beating at four weeks after conception and does not stop until death.^g
14. A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in circulation. An adult human has about four to five quarts which the heart pumps to all the tissues and to and from the lungs in about one minute while beating 75 times.^g
15. The heart pumps oxygenated blood through the aorta (the largest artery) at about 1 mile (1.6 km) per hour. By the time blood reaches the capillaries, it is moving at around 43 inches (109 cm) per hour.^g
16. Early Egyptians believed that the heart and other major organs had wills of their own and would move around inside the body.^d
17. An anonymous contributor to the Hippocratic Collection (or Canon) believed vessel valves kept impurities out of the heart, since the intelligence of man was believed to lie in the left cavity.^f
18. Plato theorized that reasoning originated with the brain, but that passions originated in the “fiery” heart.^f
19. The term “heartfelt” originated from Aristotle’s philosophy that the heart collected sensory input from the peripheral organs through the blood vessels. It was from those perceptions that thought and emotions arose.^f
20. Prolonged lack of sleep can cause irregular jumping heartbeats called premature ventricular contractions (PVCs).^b
21. Some heavy snorers may have a condition called obtrusive sleep apnea (OSA), which can negatively affect the heart.^b
22. Cocaine affects the heart’s electrical activity and causes spasm of the arteries, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke, even in healthy people.^a
23. Galen of Pergamum, a prominent surgeon to Roman gladiators, demonstrated that blood, not air, filled arteries, as Hippocrates had concluded. However, he also believed that the heart acted as a low-temperature oven to keep the blood warm and that blood trickled from one side of the heart to the other through tiny holes in the heart.^f
24. Galen agreed with Aristotle that the heart was the body’s source of heat, a type of “lamp” fueled by blood from the liver and fanned into spirituous flame by air from the lungs. The brain merely served to cool the blood.^f
25. In 1929, German surgeon Werner Forssmann (1904-1979) examined the inside of his own heart by threading a catheter into his arm vein and pushing it 20 inches and into his heart, inventing cardiac catheterization, a now common procedure.^f
26. On December 3, 1967, Dr. Christiaan Barnard (1922-2001) of South Africa transplanted a human heart into the body of Louis Washansky. Although the recipient lived only 18 days, it is considered the first successful heart transplant.^e
27. “Atrium” is Latin for “entrance hall,” and “ventricle” is Latin for “little belly.”^a
28. A woman’s heart typically beats faster than a man’s. The heart of an average man beats approximately 70 times a minute, whereas the average woman has a heart rate of 78 beats per minute.^b
29. Blood is actually a tissue. When the body is at rest, it takes only six seconds for the blood to go from the heart to the lungs and back, only eight seconds for it to go the brain and back, and only 16 seconds for it to reach the toes and travel all the way back to the heart.^c
30. French physician Rene Laennec (1781-1826) invented the stethoscope when he felt it was inappropriate to place his ear on his large-buxomed female patients’ chests.^f
31. Physician Erasistratus of Chios (304-250 B.C.) was the first to discover that the heart functioned as a natural pump.^f
32. In his text De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem, the father of modern anatomy, Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), argued that the blood seeped from one ventricle to another through mysterious pores.^f
33. Galen argued that the heart constantly produced blood. However, William Harvey’s (1578-1657) discovery of the circulation system in 1616 revealed that there was a finite amount of blood in the body and that it circulated in one direction.^f
34. The right atrium holds about 3.5 tablespoons of blood. The right ventricle holds slightly more than a quarter cup of blood. The left atrium holds the same amount of blood as the right, but its walls are three times thicker.^g
35. Grab a tennis ball and squeeze it tightly: that’s how hard the beating heart works to pump blood.^a
36. In 1903, physiologist Willem Einthoven (1860-1927) invented the electrocardiograph, which measures electric current in the heart.^e

http://facts.randomhistory.com/human-heart-facts.html