I encourage you to think of your heart like any other muscle in your body. Your heart is a muscle that gets stronger and healthier if you live an active lifestyle. Regular exercise will help keep your heart healthy for years to come.
Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle for all adults and helps maintain optimal heart health. To improve heart health and reduce your risk of heart diseases like mitral valve stenosis, it’s important to include Aerobic, Cardio exercise, Stretching, Yoga and Strength training, in your exercise program. Let’s study them below:
Aerobic Exercises Keeps You Fit
Aerobic exercise is any activity that makes the heart beat faster and increases the breathing rate more than at rest by pumping oxygenated blood to the working muscles. Because aerobic exercise improves circulation, the result is a reduction in blood pressure and heart rate, which improves overall heart health. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recommends that adults get at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week.
Cardiovascular Exercises
In order to maintain a happy and healthy heart and keep yourself from mitral valve stenosis and other heart diseases, it is important to do cardiovascular exercise 2-5 times a week. Both the CDC and the American Heart Association recommend strength training at least twice a week (on separate days). In addition to cardio, strength training one to two days a week is good for your heart and overall health.
Stretching
For maximum benefit, include moderate- and vigorous-intensity activities, as well as stretching exercises, in your routine. If you’re short on time, opt for vigorous exercise like running, hiking, or swimming to get heart-healthy benefits in just 75 minutes a week. That doesn’t mean you just need to rush through this advice and reap the rewards of heart health; different types of cardio help your heart in different ways.
Yoga
While yoga is not the primary form of exercise for those looking to improve heart health, it still needs to be considered. Certain types of stretching exercises, especially yoga, can have a direct impact on heart health by reducing arterial stiffness or thickening of the arteries associated with hypertension and stroke.
Strength Training
Strengthening the heart is the best thing you can do for your health. Like other muscles, your heart needs exercise to stay healthy and strong. Exercise strengthens the heart muscle, controls weight, and reduces stress. Exercise helps your heart function well, blood flows smoothly and prevents other problems that can affect cardiovascular health. Exercise can help you lose weight and lower your cholesterol and blood sugar levels, which can help reduce other risk factors for heart disease.
Conclusion
To improve heart health and reduce your risk of heart disease, it’s important to incorporate each of these exercises into your routine. Below is my review of the heart and overall health benefits of different workouts. There are 3 main exercise types: flexibility, cardiovascular/cardio, and strength training.
