Approximately five million people in the United States suffer from chronic heart failure, according to the MedlinePlus service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Your heart failure condition can be treated with medication, diet changes, getting help for any depression that you may be feeling, lowering your stress levels, and exercise training.
Heart Failure Diagnosis
Heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure or CHF, occurs when heart and circulatory diseases leave the heart too weak or rigid to receive blood and pump correctly. Prior to the 1960s, heart patients were often confined to bed or chairs for up to six weeks after a cardiac episode, as described in a 2007 text on cardiovascular disease by Dr. Eric Topol and other researchers in "Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine." Novelist Scott Fitzgerald, who died in 1940 of cardiac disease, was confined to bed at home during the last few weeks of his life, following a heart attack. Fitzgerald was writing a novel about a movie producer dying of heart trouble, "The Last Tycoon." His fictional hero, Monroe Stahr, ignored his physician's pleas to rest and continued a workaholic, sedentary lifestyle, causing his heart to deteriorate steadily.
Exercise Training Studies
During the 1960s, cardiologists began recognizing that regular exercise was better for heart patients than staying in bed or sitting in a chair. A 2006 "European Journal of Heart Failure" article, "Effects of exercise training on cardiac performance," reviewed multiple studies done between 1985 and 2004, which examined the effects of exercise training on heart failure patients. Most of the 1,486 patients participated in aerobic activities four times per week, sometimes combined with calisthenics or ball games, for a period of approximately three months. At the end of the exercise training period, the patients showed significant improvements in their maximum heart rate and maximum cardiac output. The "Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine" notes that exercise therapy reduces chronic heart failure mortality by 35 percent and chronic heart failure hospitalizations by 28 percent.
Exercise Training Types
At present, there is no consensus on the best aerobic exercise training for heart failure patients. The American Heart Association has created a list of suggested aerobic activities in an essay, "Physical Activity." The organization recommends moderate-intensity activities such as walking, gardening, yard work, housework, dancing and home exercise. If you are seeking a more vigorous program, the American Heart Association suggests trying tennis, racquetball, soccer, basketball and touch football.
Precautions
Consult your cardiologist before starting an exercise program, so that your physician can help you choose a level of activity that is appropriate to your particular heart condition. If you have recently had a heart attack, you can enroll in a cardiac rehabilitation program. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has published an article, "What Is Cardiac Rehabilitation?" which describes how a team consisting of physicians, nurses, exercise specialists, physical therapists, dietitians, and mental health specialists will help you design an appropriate exercise program and diet.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Definition: Heart Failure
- U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus: Heart Failure
- "Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine"; Eric J. Topol, et al., 2007
- "European Journal of Heart Failure"; "Effects of Exercise Training on Cardiac Performance"; Benno A.F. van Tol et al., February, 2006
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: What Is Cardiac Rehabilitation?
- American Heart Association: Physical Activity
