If you’re living with heart disease, you’re not alone. According to the CDC, about 5.5 percent of people in the U.S. are in the same boat. The term “heart disease” encompasses several conditions impacting the heart, such as coronary heart disease and congenital heart disease.
To take care of your heart, your doctor may have recommended managing stress, limiting or avoiding alcohol, and monitoring blood pressure. There’s another suggestion doctors have, and this time it has to do with your exercise routine. While exercise is often good for the heart, certain kinds can be risky for people with heart conditions.
The Main Popular Workout Move To Avoid if You Have a Heart Condition
High-intensity workouts—like heavy weightlifting or powerlifting—are a no-go, according to Dr. Bradley Serwer, MD, an interventional cardiologist and chief medical officer at VitalSolution, a company that offers cardiovascular and anesthesiology services to hospitals nationwide.
“This sudden, highly intense activity [can] cause blood pressure to shoot up four times the normal limit and places severe stress on the heart,” he explains. However, light and moderate weightlifting is usually fine.
High-intensity exercise includes strength training and/or cardio. You may have heard of it referred to as HIIT, short for high-intensity interval training. Dr. Sanjay Maniar, MD, a non-invasive cardiologist with Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, also agrees that heart patients should be cautious of this type of workout, and for similar reasons. “Exercises that put extreme strain on the body should be avoided, and the rapid burst of intense activity could be too taxing on the heart,” he says.
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Dr. Serwer acknowledges that HIIT can be helpful for athletes or people without heart disease, but that’s the key phrase here: “without heart disease.” The strain could lead to abnormal heart rhythms, ischemia, heart attack or flash pulmonary edema for those who do have it, he adds.
Further, skipping out on this type of exercise might be especially important for people with certain types of heart problems. “Some conditions, like aortic aneurysms (enlargement of the aorta), can worsen with heavy weight lifting,” says Dr. Evan Jacobs, MD, a fellowship-trained and board-certified doctor in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, echocardiography, vascular ultrasound and nuclear cardiology. Otherwise, he believes most heart conditions don’t come with limitations around specific exercises.
Other Workout Moves To Avoid if You Have a Heart Condition
Other moves that stress the heart include isometric exercises, such as planks or wall sits, Dr. Maniar says. These movements “require excessive breath holding” and “can raise blood pressure to dangerous levels.”
Don’t forget that heart medicines affect the body (and therefore your workout routine) too. Heated exercises, for one, can be dangerous if you’re taking certain medications. “Hot yoga (or other exercises in extreme temperature) should also be avoided as it can lead to dehydration and dangerously low blood pressures for patients taking heart medications,” Dr. Maniar says.
Across the board, it’s important to remember these two things: every body and everybody is different, and working your way up with exercise is important. Don’t go hard right from the start, and respect your body’s needs and limits.
“People generally need to listen to their bodies and increase exercise duration and intensity slowly over time to allow their heart to acclimate to the extra work,” Dr. Jacobs says.
Beneficial Exercises for People With a Heart Condition
Other than avoiding intense exercise, finding the right workout is more about implementing movement that’s sustainable—physically and mentally. “The best form of exercise is one which the person enjoys and an activity which does not exacerbate musculoskeletal conditions,” Dr. Serwer says. “The more someone enjoys exercise, the more likely they are to participate long-term.” Doing it with a friend can also help with the latter, he adds.
Aerobic exercises in particular, Dr. Jacobs says, are associated with improved cardiovascular health. So walking, jogging, swimming and cycling are great options.
Dr. Maniar agrees that moderate exercises like those can be beneficial. “Incorporating resistance training can also strengthen muscles and reduce the risk of future injuries,” he adds.
A big proponent of water-based activities, Dr. Serwer suggests swimming or water aerobics (the latter is often available at local YMCAs!). He explains that’s because “swimming provides low to no impact, forces the participant to focus on breathing, and provides strengthening and aerobic benefits.”
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Dr. Serwer also recommends exercise classes, such as yoga, spinning or aerobics, since they’re fun, social and at a set time. “This helps improve compliance and increases the likelihood of long-term engagement,” he explains. “The goal is consistency for the long run to achieve the most out of your exercise program.”
But again, don’t rush into anything. “You should always consult your physician before doing any new workout moves, especially if you have a heart condition,” Dr. Jacobs adds.
The only other consideration when it comes to optimizing your heart health is time and frequency. Dr. Serwer recommends 150 minutes of aerobic exercise weekly, plus three sessions of weight training or weight-bearing exercise. That’s roughly 30 minutes of exercise for five days a week, he says, plus some strengthening exercises on three of those days. (Remember, rest days are important too!)
While intense exercise can be hard on the heart for those with a heart condition, that doesn’t mean exercise is completely off the table for them. Keeping it light or moderate has its benefits, Dr. Serwer says, like improving heart function, increasing endurance, reducing stress and even minimizing the risk of cardiac events.
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Sources
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Dr. Bradley Serwer, MD, an interventional cardiologist and chief medical officer at VitalSolution
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Dr. Sanjay Maniar, MD, a non-invasive cardiologist with Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital
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Dr. Evan Jacobs, MD, a fellowship-trained and board-certified doctor in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, echocardiography, vascular ultrasound and nuclear cardiology who works with Conviva Care Centers
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Lifestyle Changes for Heart Failure, American Heart Association
