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The heart-healthy exercise plan

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Can you name the most important muscle in your body? No, it’s not your abs, thigh muscle or arms. It’s your heart!

The human heart is an amazing muscle, capable of pumping about five litres of blood throughout the body every minute—that’s approximately 7,200 litres of blood each day! In fact, the average heart beats about 100,000 times each day, too, which is why it’s so important to have a strong and healthy heart.

And just like you can exercise to build strength in your arm and thigh muscles, you can also train your heart to become stronger, healthier and more efficient at doing its function. The right exercise plan is like strength-training for your heart, which helps it pump more blood with less effort.

The Facts
According to the American Heart Association (AHA),physical inactivity is a major risk factor for developing coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is caused by deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, calcium and other substances in the inner lining of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. This build-up makes the arteries narrowed or blocked, and when oxygen-rich blood can’t reach the heart, the result is chest pain or a heart attack. Over time, CAD can weaken the heart muscle and lead to heart failure.

While CAD is the most common type of heart disease and the leading cause of death in the World for both men and women, the good news is that lifestyle changes like exercise can help prevent or treat CAD in most people.

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How to Exercise for a Healthy Heart
Fortunately, it doesn’t take hours in the gym to get the heart-healthy benefits of exercise. As little as 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as walking, most days of the week can substantially reduce your risk of heart disease. Additionally, the habit can help improve your mental well being and manage your weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels better.

While previous recommendations have focused mainly on cardio (aerobic) conditioning for heart health, new guidelines developed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the AHA also take into account higher levels of intensity and the benefits that strength training offers your heart. These recommendations are for healthy adults under the age of 65 who want to improve heart health, prevent heart disease, and increase overall well-being.

Cardio (aerobic) exercise guidelines: Perform moderately-intense cardio exercise for 30 minutes a day, five days a week. If weight-loss is your goal as well, increase this number up to 60 minutes at a moderate intensity. Moderate intensity is defined by ACSM as a target heart rate range of 55-59% of your maximum heart rate which is roughly the pace where you break a sweat but are still able to carry on a conversation.

Strength training guidelines: Do 8-10 strength-training exercises with 8-12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.

For more details about exercise plans contact us at www.cardiacwellnessinstitute.com

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