By now, you know that exercise does a body good. It's also one of the main steps you can take to reduce your risk of heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, an American will suffer a coronary event about every 25 seconds.
What Is Heart Disease?
Heart disease refers to several different disorders that affect your heart's structure and function, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Some of the more commonly known are heart attack, heart failure and angina. However, other heart diseases include atherosclerosis, arrhythmia, coronary artery disease and rheumatic heart disease.
Causes of Heart Disease
There are a variety of reasons you may develop heart disease. In some cases fats, calcium and scar tissues---or plaque---accumulate in your arteries, as in the case of coronary artery disease. Or, a blood clot may develop in one of the coronary arteries and lead to a heart attack. Hypertension or high blood pressure is another cause; it hardens and narrows vessels in the heart and can lead to atherosclerosis.
How Exercise Boosts Heart Health
Regular physical activity benefits your heart by counteracting the main risk factors for heart disease. First, exercise gets you moving and helps you to avoid a sedentary lifestyle. According to the American Heart Association, being inactive or living a sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor for heart disease.
Exercise has the added benefit of combating other major risk factors --- hypertension, high blood fat levels, which inclueds cholesterol and triglycerides, and overweight or obesity. A study published in the journal Circulation reveals that exercise reduces high blood pressure, body weight, and cholesterol levels. Exercise also increases insulin sensitivity and increases good cholesterol.
By reducing these major risk factors, exercise also wards off diseases that put your heart at risk. For instance, hypertension and obesity increase the risk of diabetes and kidney disease. Heart disease is a complication of both diseases.
How Much Cardio Exercise Do You Need?
The standard recommendations based on the CDC's Physical Activity for Everyone guidelines two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week, which you can break down into 30 minutes five days a week. Moderate-intensity activity generally refers to exercise you can do and still hold a conversation.
If you think high-intensity workouts will do your heart more good, think again. A study conducted at Duke University Medical Center shows that the amount of exercise you get --- not the intensity --- is what really matters. The researchers didn't notice any significant difference in peak VO2 between people in a low amount/moderate intensity exercise group compared to those in the low amount/vigorous intensity exercise group. VO2 refers to the amount of oxygen carried in blood to tissues during a certain amount of time while exercising.
Best Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Activities
• Ballroom dancing
• Brisk walking (3 miles per hour or faster)
• Cycling at 10 miles per hour or slower
• Gardening for 30 to 45 minutes
• Skipping for 15 minutes
• Stair climbing for 15 minutes
• Swimming laps for 30 minutes
• Doubles tennis
• Water aerobics for 30 minutes
Sources: CDC and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
References
- 1: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: February is American Heart Month
- 2. American Heart and Stroke Foundation: Heart Disease Conditions
- 3. "Exercise and Cardiovascular Health"; Circulation: January 2003
- 4. National Kidney Foundation: Staying Fit With Kidney Disease
- 5. "Moderate Exercise Yields Cardiovascular Benefits"; ScienceDaily; October 2005
