Exercises that heart patients can do safely
SINGAPORE – The best exercise for the heart is one that works it to make it stronger.
These are aerobic exercises, such as walking, swimming and running, and even heart patients should not shy away from such activities in the mistaken fear that it could make their conditions worse.
Though pure resistance and stretching exercises have not been shown to improve heart health in the way that aerobic exercise has, they are important supplements to cardiovascular exercises and should not be ignored, said Adjunct Assistant Professor Tong Khim Leng of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, who is also chief of the department of cardiology at Changi General Hospital (CGH).
Together, they ensure a well- balanced development of physical and functional capacity, she said.
Done well, they can also enhance the cardiovascular performance of the patient, giving him more strength and power to run.
Thus, the renowned Cleveland Clinic in the United States advises that a well-rounded exercise programme for heart patients should include aerobic exercise, stretching and strength training.
But heart patients should always consult their doctors before starting resistance or strength exercises, Prof Tong warned.
Patients with uncontrolled hypertension, decompensated heart failure – in which the symptoms of heart failure worsen, resulting in a need for urgent therapy or hospitalisation – or very serious heart conditions, such as severe leaking heart valves, should not be doing resistance exercises by themselves.
Patients who have had a recent bypass operation (in which a new artery is created to bypass a blocked one) should wait five to eight weeks before starting strength training to let the sternum (breastbone) wound heal.
Even after the wound has healed, the weights used for the next five to eight weeks should be between 500g and 2kg each.
“Stop if there is a feeling of pulling or pain, or sternal instability, such as cracking or popping,” Prof Tong said.
Those who have had balloon angioplasty (in which a flexible tube is threaded along the arteries and an attached balloon is inflated to clear the blockage) and/or stenting (the insertion of a tiny tube to prop an artery open) can start resistance exercises four weeks after the procedure as the sternum is not affected.
TRAINING GUIDELINES
Start resistance exercises gradually, beginning with lighter weights and fewer repetitions, and progressing on to heavier weights and more repetitions.
If you are working out at home and do not have manufactured weights, improvise by using plastic bottles full of water.
Start working on the legs, shoulders and arms first before working on the abdomen in a single session.
Aim to do resistance exercises two or three times a week with rest days in between.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions of each set of exercise, repeated two or three times, with rest periods of two to three minutes between each set.
It is not necessarily more effective to exercise longer, as the aim is to achieve muscle fatigue and not muscle failure, said Prof Tong. Lengthy sessions may, in fact, increase the risk of injuries.
While doing the exercises, avoid holding your breath, but maintain regular breathing, exhaling when exerting yourself and inhaling when relaxing.
Make the movements slow and deliberate, with control, but avoid gripping the weights too tightly which may cause an excessive rise in blood pressure.
Stop the exercises at once if you have shortness of breath, giddiness, light-headedness, palpitations and chest tightness or pain while at rest and consult your cardiologist or primary physician, said Prof Tong.
Stretching exercises are also suitable for heart patients, but avoid raising the arms for prolonged periods and stretching the chest if open heart surgery was done recently (less than five to eight weeks).
Stretching exercises are also good for warming up and cooling down.
Ms Loke Shi Jia, senior physiotherapist in charge of the cardiac rehabilitation programme at CGH, said: “Stretching the arms and legs before and after exercise helps prepare the muscles for activity and prevent injury and muscle strain.”
Regular stretching also increases your range of motion, flexibility and muscle function, she added.
Ms Loke demonstrates some strength exercises for heart patients.
Source: Mind Your Body, The Straits Times
Published: 17 Oct 2013
Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies
