PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND
YOUR HEART
Physical inactivity is the most common risk factor for heart disease. The British Heart Foundation
reports that 7 out of 10 adults in the UK do not take enough regular physical activity to protect
their heart.
Regular physical activity benefits your heart in a number of ways:
o Improves your body’s fitness.
o Improves your risk of further heart problems.
Blood cholesterol
Exercise helps your body make good cholesterol (HDL), which helps to stop
your coronary arteries from becoming narrowed or blocked, this protects
your heart. This benefit is only maintained while you continue taking
regular physical activity.
Blood clotting
Physical activity can help to lower your tendency to form blood clots;
this reduces your risk of a heart attack.
Blood pressure
Regular exercise can keep blood pressure lower. Physical activity is not the
only factor involved in high blood pressure, salt in your diet, alcohol
consumption and being overweight also play a role.
Weight Control
Physical activity is crucial in helping to reach and maintain a healthy
weight. Without regular exercise, your body can't burn off the calories
you have eaten, so you could put on weight. Being overweight puts extra
strain on your heart, making it work harder. Being overweight also
increases the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and of
developing diabetes so
losing weight can help to control these risk factors as well.
Diabetes
Exercise helps to control blood sugars. Regular physical activity can reduce the
risk of developing diabetes later in life.
Also ………
Physical activity has been shown to reduce the severity of a heart attack,
which means that people who regularly exercise are twice as likely to
survive a heart attack as compared with those who do not exercise.
Physical activity also gives you:
 More energy
 Relief from stress,
 A lower risk of osteoporosis (thinning of the bones).
 A lower risk of falling in the older population.
 A feeling of wellbeing
There is no threshold of activity that you have to reach before you can benefit - a little
activity is better than none!
♥ You don't have to go to a gym, play sports, or use special equipment, although you can do that if
you enjoy it.
♥ You can become more active by including more activity in your everyday life
Walk to the shops
Walk or cycle to meet a friend
Get off the bus a stop before you normally
would and walk the rest of the way
Walk or cycle to work, even part of the way and
then catching the bus
What do we mean by physical activity?
Many people are put off physical activity because they think that only vigorous exercise or sport
count as healthy activity. This is not true.
 Walking continuously for 10 minutes or more in one go regularly is enough to be of benefit.
 More benefit can be gained from 30 minutes of brisk walking 5 or more days per week.
 This can be achieved as 30 minutes all in one go, or in several shorter episodes. e.g. 3 episodes
of 10 minutes.
 Increase the time you spend exercising before you build up the intensity. Wait until you can
manage a 30-minute walk before you speed up to a brisk walk, then gradually increase the time
you walk for.
During moderate exercise you should not be breathless, but you should be breathing deeper and
faster, but still able to talk in phrases and short sentences without panting between your words.
If 30 minutes of activity per day seems a lot, the good news is, that you will get some benefit from
any amount of exercise that you do. Even a small amount of activity is better than none, so don’t
get discouraged, do what you can and build up slowly over days / weeks / months as necessary. A
weekly activity diary helps you see how you're doing on a regular basis. You can also look back at
how far you've come over time and chart your progress.
 When you have heart disease, it is important to warm up before exercising and to cool down
afterwards. Also, stretching before and after exercise ensures that your muscles are warm and you
do not hurt yourself.
Tips on keeping active:
Do activities you enjoy,
Remember how being active makes you feel – self-confident, healthier, relaxed,
Vary your activities – change the place/time or activity,
Be social – get family, friends or neighbors’ involved.
Sometimes you may not be able to exercise much, however, whatever you can manage to do
regularly will give you some benefit and is well worth doing.
Safety Tips:
Increase your physical activity gradually. This means
both the amount of time you spend doing it, and how intense the activity is,
Warm up and cool down each time you do any physical activity,
Avoid doing activities after a large meal, or when it is very hot or very cold, or
at high altitudes,
If you are doing any activity outdoors in cold or windy weather, dress warmly,
with a hat and a scarf,
Don’t exercise if you have a viral infection (for example, a sore throat) or a
temperature,
Make sure your clothing and footwear are comfortable and fit well. Wearing
well-fitting footwear is especially important if you have diabetes or
musculoskeletal problems,
Discuss new activities with your doctor prior to making any changes to your
day to day exercise regime,
If you get angina, take your GTN spray or tablets with you when you do any
physical activity,
Stop exercising if you get any pain, or feel dizzy, sick or unwell, or very tired. If
the symptoms don’t go away, or if they come back later, see your doctor or go
to your nearest accident and emergency department.