Generally, heart disease patients are advised to exercise to maintain heart muscle strength. However, you have to pay attention to the types because some types of exercise can increase the risk of recurrence of heart disease symptoms. Know the sports and other activities that people with heart disease should avoid.
Sports that people with heart disease should avoid
Apart from taking heart medication recommended by your doctor, the way to treat heart disease is to live a healthy lifestyle, such as regular exercise, to help strengthen the heart muscle and reduce symptoms.
However, you also need to choose exercise that is safe for heart disease.
Launch British Heart Foundationpeople with heart disease, such as heart failure, it is important to avoid weight-bearing exercises or those that require holding your breath.
People who have heart disease should also avoid sports that require the entire body to be focused on, such as exercise press-up or plank.
Here are some sports that heart disease patients should avoid:
1. Isometric exercises
Patients who have a history of heart disease should avoid isometric exercises.
Isometric exercises are muscle strength exercises that do not require a person to move joints and bones.
Some examples of isometric exercises are movements plank, wall sitor bridge pose.
Why should heart disease patients not do isometric exercises?
In study American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness explains that when someone performs isometric movements continuously, blood pressure can increase.
This can affect how the heart works and trigger symptoms of heart disease to recur.
2. Lift the load
In fact, lifting weights is beneficial for maintaining heart health.
The American Heart Association also recommends doing strength training (strength training) twice a week. However, you should not overdo it and stop immediately when symptoms of heart disease appear.
On study published by Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, it is stated that patients who have previously had a heart attack should avoid lifting weights of more than 4.5 kg for a while.
If, for example, you want to start again, make sure you consult a doctor first, okay?
3. Marathon
Patients who have a history of heart disease are allowed to do light exercise, such as walking or jogging. However, avoid long-distance running such as marathons.
Although only in a small percentage, researchers found that hard long-distance running can cause the walls of the heart’s blood vessels to thicken. Moreover, high-intensity cardio training can cause changes in heart rhythm.
So, people who have heart disease should avoid HIIT exercise, but choose one with moderate intensity.
4. Football
There are quite a lot of cases of soccer athletes experiencing heart attacks or sudden cardiac arrest while exercising.
Usually, it is caused by congenital heart disease, a history of previous heart disease, heart defects, or atherosclerosis. Therefore, football should also be avoided by people who have had heart disease.
Similar to a marathon, soccer is a long-duration sport with quite high intensity.
This can make the heart work harder than usual. Consult further with your doctor for more details.
5. Other strenuous exercise
Another sport that should be avoided is strenuous exercise because it can trigger arrhythmia. For example, HIIT training, cycling at a speed of 10 minutes per hour or faster, running long and fast, jumping rope, and so on.
Heavy exercise that is done continuously can increase the risk of coronary artery calcification, which is a condition where calcium-containing plaque builds up in the heart arteries.
In contrast, the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend combining aerobic exercise with moderate levels of resistance training in heart patients.
Other activities that people with heart disease need to avoid
Not doing physical activity or not moving much for a long period of time can increase the risk of heart disease. The reason is, being lazy or rarely moving can increase the risk of fat or plaque buildup in the blood vessels.
Remember that blocked or damaged blood vessels can cause a heart attack.
Here are some activities that heart disease patients need to avoid, including:
- Sitting too long
- Watch TV while lying down
- Not exercising or moving your body at all
Health NotesQ
Do physical activity and exercise regularly. The American Heart Association recommends getting at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week or 30 minutes per day.
However, consult further with your doctor to find out what type of exercise is appropriate for your history of heart disease and health conditions. Use a device that can detect your heart rate when you exercise so that it can be measured properly.
Stop exercising when symptoms of fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, chest pain and dizziness appear.
