Exercise | Healthy Heart Net

A Healthy Heart for a Healthy Life

July 18, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Maintaining good heart health is one of the most basic ways a person can care for themselves. While some people must deal with bad genes or heart defects from birth, most people can ensure a strong heart by just eating well and spending some of their spare time exercising. The internet is a good resource for people interested in learning more about heart professionals, nutrition, exercises, risk factors, and the different types of heart disease.

The heart is a muscle and needs to be exercised as well and as often as the biceps or abdomen muscles. While no one will ever see the heart built up in the way that bulging biceps ripple under a tight t-shirt, the heart needs to be cared for because it keeps the rest of the body moving. How does one exercise this hidden muscle? It cannot be flexed with weights. It can not be stretched with yoga or Pilates. Cardio is what works for the heart, and Canada 411 lists some exercise resources to try.

As important as exercise is, it can only go so far without proper nutrition. A good, heart-healthy diet does not have to be complicated. A good start is to reduce the amount of white sugar and white flour in the diet. Adding more fiber will help more than just the heart. One idea to consider is starting a garden. A garden will help make vegetables available while at the same time increase the amount of cardio exercise you do.

Filed Under: Exercise, Heart Care, Heart Surgeons Tagged With: Health, Nutrition, Physical exercise

Benefits of Exercising

March 9, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

If you want more energy in your life, to live longer, and feel better, all you need is some good physical exercise. It doesn’t need to be drudgery, find an activity that you enjoy doing, as long as you move is what counts. Exercising can improve sex life, give your mood a boost, prevents health conditions, better sleeping habits, and promotes loss of weight. You can take advantage of these benefits no matter what your physical ability, sex, or age. Here are some ways of improving your life.

1. Improving your mood

After having a stress filled day, a brisk walk for 30 minutes or a gym workout will get you in a calmer state of mind. Physical activities prevent depression; improve self-esteem, and boosts confidence, leaving you relaxed and happier.

2. Managing weight

If you need to shed some extra pounds, trade in couch sessions for physical activity or try some walking. Every one knows that doing physical exercises burn up calories. The more strenuous your activity, more calories are burnt. Learn to use stairs instead of taking an elevator, during commercials do sit-ups to jumping jacks, and walk on a lunch breaks.

3. Combating chronic disease

Doing physical exercises can manage or help prevent many chronic diseases such as, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and helps benefit cholesterol.

4. Giving your energy level a boost

If you get winded by simple household chores or just going shopping for groceries, you can breathe easier by doing some physical exercises. Nutrients and oxygen are delivered to tissues and the whole cardiovascular system is benefited. When lungs and heart are working efficiently, you can enjoy your life because of the energy you have.

5. Putting the romance back in your sex lives

Physical exercise helps enhance arousal in women, and the men that regularly exercise are less apt to suffer erectile dysfunction, especially as they age.

6. Promoting better sleep with exercise

Getting a good restful sleep at night improves concentration, mood, productivity, and exercising is vital to sleeping better.

Filed Under: Exercise, Heart Care Tagged With: Health, Heart Disease, Physical exercise

Dietary Risk Factors for a Heart Attack

February 16, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Even those who eat incredibly well might have risk factors that can cause a heart attack. How much we eat regardless of what it is can impact our weight and heart health. Eating is a pleasurable activity but it doesn’t mean we should eat to oblivion (even fruit). For example, bananas are an excellent source of potassium, but they also contain a lot of sugar as they ripen. In addition, they contain anywhere from 70 to 130 calories each. A simple rule to keep in mind is whatever you consume, be prepared to burn off with a fair amount of movement.

What we drink can also impact our ticker’s function. Consider this before you visit your local coffee shop for a latte. One or two cups of coffee without any milk, sugar or cream isn’t so bad (4 ounces). Caffeine itself isn’t a problem in moderation but it can harden the blood vessels and over time increase blood pressure.

Soda has approximately 22 grams of sugar per each six-ounce can or bottle. The huge cups found at the convenience stores are about one liter or more. If the small can or bottle contains double the amount of our daily allowable sugar intake, you can only imagine what those super-size drinks contain. Sugar is known to be deadly in excess by many of our medical professionals. The food pyramid shows us how little should be consumed and it’s considered a treat. Think about these risk factors more.

Genetics can play a role in determining your risk for difficulties with cardiovascular health. Even those of us who appear to be thin can have high cholesterol. If one or both of our parents and some of our ancestors on either side of the family tree have had a heart attack, chances are we can suffer the same fate. During your next annual checkup consider providing your general practitioner or cardiologist with any family history or pertinent health information.

Filed Under: Exercise, Heart Care Tagged With: Hypercholesterolemia, Myocardial infarction, Risk factor

Exercise Made Easy

February 8, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

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If your middle name isn’t tae-bo, relax. You don’t have to be like Billy Blanks (although he’s very motivating) to get the body shape you want. Exercise exists however we choose to burn substantial calories. So get creative and start moving!

Instead of hiring someone to clean the entire house each week, try cleaning one room a day. Your home will not only thank you but your body will benefit too. Although scrubbing the toilet seems less than appealing and gross at the very least you’ll give your triceps and forearms a workout (if it’s done in the proper way). When your wood furniture is crying for attention, give it back its luster and polish it. Whether you polish or scrub an item you’ve just burnt about 30 calories. Cleaning the entire bathroom or dining room will shave off approximately 150 calories for an hour’s worth of exercise.

If you can’t walk and chew gum simultaneously, try. A brisk walk an hour a day will take off about 200 to 300 calories for an average-sized adult. Chewing gum for the same amount of time will burn 11 calories. If you’d like to try jogging instead of a walk, this activity burns off the equivalent of one sensible meal at approximately 400 calories.

When you’re planning to move into a new place nearby consider that packing all of your boxes will take up energy and may shed a few unwanted pounds. Many people wrap their valuables in newspaper and pack their boxes that way. Preparing to move (and depending on how many items you have) it can burn over 400 calories.

The next time your siblings need a babysitter for the kids, it might be fun and you’ll be burning the same number of calories in a small, non-fat milk chai latte beverage (about 170 calories). However if the children are more active and want to play outside, you’ll be burning 500 calories.

Filed Under: Exercise, Fitness Tagged With: Body shape, Calorie, Physical exercise

Reasons to Exercise

February 1, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Unless we’re extremely forgetful, there should be no need to avoid engaging in an exercise routine each week. Perhaps some of us dread our morning run because we’d like a quick surge of energy by drinking a cup of coffee. Since the early 1990’s, many people have been fighting an ongoing skirmish with their clothing because it seems to be getting tighter. Exercise is one of the ways we can attempt to combat the extra pounds. Additionally, it also has other merits to keep in mind.

As we age metabolism can decrease dramatically and that 17-year-old figure many of us once had in high school can disappear. Although being active doesn’t guarantee maintaining our adolescent figures for a lifetime, we can maintain good physical health and refrain from gaining weight at the mere sight of food.

Weekend plans may be around the corner but if we can’t find our keys, we’ll have to walk or (somehow) boost our internal filing cabinet. Does this sound familiar? If your brain’s memory has gone haywire since your last job, consider physical activity the antidote.

The heart has a big job to pump blood from the brain to our feet. This is especially cumbersome if the body mass index is more than 24 percent and blood pressure will likely be much higher as obesity increases. It’s more ideal to be about five percent underweight according to some physicians, since the heart is a muscle that won’t have to work as hard.

If Mr. Sandman hasn’t visited much lately, exercise can help you reach dreamland more quickly and minimize tossing and turning through the night. We’ll most likely wake up feeling refreshed, and we won’t necessarily need a special mattress to rest soundly. If these aren’t good enough reasons to alter your physical fitness regimen, your body can look better and clothing will fit more comfortably.

Filed Under: Exercise, Fitness Tagged With: Health, Physical exercise, Physical fitness

The Importance of Exercise and a Healthy Heart

November 30, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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Did you know that exercise can be good for you? By just adding a 30-minute walk, five times a week a person can lessen their chance of a heart attack, obesity and stroke. However the most important part of your body, the heart, gets the most benefit from exercise. Exercise gets the blood flowing throughout the body, clears out bad substances in the body that could surround the heart and lowers blood pressure and cholesterol.

There has been a massive amount of information aimed at the ability to inform the public about the importance of adding exercise to a person’s daily routine. There are public service ads, announcements on the radio, Internet and TV as stories from celebrities talking about how they got fit, as well as reality shows showing the benefits of exercise. It is all done in an effort to get people excited about working out.

Surprisingly with all these media and medical campaigns going on the public is listening. Gym memberships are on the rise, apartment complexes and assisted living facilities are being encouraged to add gyms and people are being rewarded for walking and exercising on their own free time by employers and corporations all over.

It might appear to some that all of these efforts are a way to get people geared up to spend more money on gym memberships, and to promote businesses that focus on exercise and fitness. But the truth is that exercise can really help save a person’s life and the media and medical community is simply trying to spread the word about exercise and the importance of a healthy heart. If it takes a little bit of encouragement and inspiration to save a person’s life by getting them to start exercising, it is well worth it because exercise really could add 10 years to a person’s life.

Filed Under: Exercise, General Tagged With: Blood pressure, Gym, Health, Heart Disease, Medicine, Myocardial infarction, Physical exercise, United States

Improve Your Heart Health with Prescription Drug Rehab

November 24, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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If you have a drug problem, you could be doing a lot of damage to your internal organs. You won’t see the damage, of course, and you might not even feel it for some time. Eventually it can catch up with you, and by that time it can be very hard to treat. For some people, the damage will have gone too far and there won’t really be anything that can be done. Everyone’s heard of things like alcohol abuse causing liver damage, but most people aren’t aware of the damage that drugs can do to your heart.

If you’re taking a lot of drugs and medications for various things, it’s possible to begin to overuse them. That’s especially true of things like muscle relaxants, tranquilizers, and antidepressants, as well as pain medications. Over time, you often need more of these to get the same effect. Because of that, it can become a real problem for some people who aren’t able to control how much they use. They want the relief that comes with taking them, but they don’t realize the dosage that they’ve gotten to. They also don’t realize how hard all of these medications are on their bodies, so they don’t pay attention to their heart health.

If you want to protect your heart, there’s more you can do than just exercising and eating right. Regular checkups are very important, and you should also check yourself into prescription drug rehab and get clean as soon as possible. If there’s been any damage done, it may be possible to reverse it. Even if it can’t be reversed, it can be stopped now and not allowed to continue. You’ll be able to live a longer, happier, healthier life by getting – and staying – drug free.

Filed Under: Cancer, Drug Addiction, Exercise, Fitness Tagged With: Drugs, Drugs and Medications, Health, Oxycodone, Pharmaceutical drug, Pharmacy, Prescription drug, United States

Get Heart Healthy

November 14, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

There’s a lot of talk nowadays about healthy hearts. We live in a day and age where technology is increasing and we know more and more about our health. It’s time to take advantage of all of this technology and information at our fingertips and get heart healthy. Here are some tips for keeping your heart going strong for years to come.

1. Get a checkup. Before you can start any real healthy living routine, you need a check up from your doctor. Make sure your heart is strong enough to exercise and live a healthy life. Once you get the sign-off from the doctor, you’re good to go.

2. Take any medications. It’s true, many of us have to take medications daily. Some of these medications actually help our hearts. If you are on any kind of heart medication, don’t skip it. You could even look into getting a prescription discount card to help pay for your medicine.

3. Start exercising. If you’re just beginning, start slow. Take the stairs, park farther away, or go for a walk around the neighborhood. If you’re a seasoned exerciser, kick up your routine a bit. Run an extra mile, add on some weights, or try yoga. The important thing is to move and keep moving.

4. Eat healthy. You are what you eat, right? For a healthy heart, cut back on red meat, eat lots of leafy greens, don’t forget some fruits, and enjoy lean meats. The less fat you take into your body, the less that will reside around your heart.

You’ve only got one heart so make sure you take care of it. The heart is our most vital organ. It keeps our bodies and our minds moving. Follow these few simple tips here to start getting in heart-healthy shape.

Filed Under: Cancer, Exercise Tagged With: American Heart Association, Cardiovascular Disorders, Conditions and Diseases, Health, Heart Disease, Pharmaceutical drug, Physical exercise, Prevention

Exercise and Nintendo Wii

November 5, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image by Link576 via Flickr

If you want to get away from Tennessee drug treatment and get healthy with your life, try exercising with the Nintendo Wii. The Wii is a video-game console that plays thousands of games, and many of them include extensive exercise. It even has games you can play in groups while exercising.

You can do exercises focused on cardio, strength training, or even yoga. Whatever interests you, the Wii has it. What is different about the Wii from regular exercise videos is that the Wii uses games in order to keep exercising fun and exciting.

In some games, you will need to complete a certain score in order to unlock more exercises to do. You may have to run an obstacle course in order to finish a task, or you might have to beat the top score before you can move on to another section.

If you just want an old-fashioned workout, the Wii has that, too. You can choose from yoga meditation and breathing exercises to step aerobics or even running. Strength training is also popular as it utilizes a balance board in order to correct your form and help you exercise the right way.

There are also different levels of difficulty. People who have not been exercising should try the easy/beginner level. Intermediate gets a little more difficult and gives you quite a workout. Expert is the hardest level, and you should only do it when you have proficiently mastered the other two levels.

Whatever you decide, the Wii offers fun and entertainment for the whole family, as well as a great way to get fit. With a scale built right into some of the Wii accessories, you will be able to tell with ease how much weight you’ve lost and how your progress is coming along with your workouts.

Filed Under: Cancer, Drug Addiction, Exercise Tagged With: Console Platforms, Games, Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, Tennessee, Video game console, Video Games, Wii

Walking Toward Heart Health

October 28, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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Did you know that if you are overweight or are experiencing high blood pressure, simply walking each day could help improve these conditions? An annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) presented that message recently.

A study out of Korea says that simply walking about 40 minutes each day can lower blood pressure. Another study from the United States, states that people who are morbidly obese can benefit from a daily walk.

The Korean study researched men with prehypertension or hypertension. The subject’s blood pressure was read after they engaged in a 40-minute walk and four, 10-minute walks at a brisk level. The blood pressure readings of the subjects dropped after each type of walking session — dropping between 3 and 5 points. While researchers admit that more research is they believe that benefits can be sustained if the exercise level is maintained.

The head researcher of the Korean study says that the two variations on the walking routine gives people a choice. She says that some of us like to get our exercise done in one session, while others may benefit from small chunks of exercise time.

The Korean study’s findings are in agreement with the recommendations of the ACSM that says that adults should exercise moderately five days a week for at least 30 minutes. The ACSM agrees that this 30-minute timeframe can be broken up into lesser times.

Other researchers recommend alternating other physical activities such as biking or swimming with the walking routine. They say that other muscles can get a work out as well as reducing the risk of overuse or injury.

The U.S. study showed that walking helps get morbidly obese people’s heart rates up to a point where it is a benefit to heart health.

So indications from these studies say that walking is good for the heart!

Filed Under: Exercise, Heart Care Tagged With: American College of Sports Medicine, Blood pressure, United States