Exercise may help repair damage to sedentary, aging hearts and reduce the risk of future heart failure, provided it is sufficient and started on time.
Your physical activity plan should ideally be done four to five times weekly. A heart-healthy exercise routine includes four to five 30-minute sessions each week, as well as warmup and cooldown.
One of the weekly sessions should comprise a high-intensity 30-minute exercise, such as aerobic interval sessions in which the heart rate exceeds 95 percent of peak rate for 4 minutes, followed by 3 minutes of rest, and repeated four times (a so-called “4 x 4”).
A relatively low-intensity recovery session should follow each interval exercise. The session should last an hour and be moderate in intensity.
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As a “life prescription,” this lengthier session could include a pleasurable activity like tennis, aerobic dance, strolling, or biking.
Each week, one or two additional sessions should be done at a moderate intensity, which means that you break a sweat and be a bit out of breath but still be able to carry on a conversation – the “talk test.” One or two weekly strength training sessions with weights or exercise machines should be incorporated on a different day or after an endurance activity.
In people with heart failure, exercise may also stimulate the creation of new cells to repair weakening muscles and the formation of blood vessels. If people with heart failure follow an exercise program, they may restore 70% of their activity capability.
Skeletal Muscles and Heart Failure
About 5 million Americans suffer from chronic heart failure, a disease in which the heart cannot efficiently pump blood and meet the body’s oxygen needs.
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The illness damages not just the heart but also the skeletal muscles, making exercise incredibly important for overall bone and heart health.
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Learn About the Advantages of Exercise for Heart Failure
It is critical to understand that exercise will not enhance your ejection fraction (the percentage of blood your heart can push forward with each pump).
However, it may assist in increasing your body’s overall strength and efficiency. Exercise has also been demonstrated to
