Exercise for Heart Health

Be aware that doing the right kind of exercise is one of the best prescriptions for gaining and maintaining a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. According to an excellent ten-year study done at the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute:

• Regular exercise is associated with marked reductions in the long-term risks for major cardiac events such as heart attack or stroke, and death from heart disease.
• People who exercise regularly, at least three times per week, reduced their chance of a cardiac event from 30 to 50 percent.
• A study from the Cooper Clinic shows that physical fitness is directly correlated with increased life span and fewer deaths from cardiovascular causes and cancer.
• Even for obese individuals or for people with several coronary heart disease risk factors, physical fitness strongly decreases the chance of developing symptoms of heart disease.

The Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute has found that the following types of exercise are most effective in treating people with cardiovascular disease, or for people wishing to avoid developing cardiovascular disease:

• Dynamic or aerobic exercises, which include walking, running, cycling, swimming, aerobic dancing, cross-country skiing, and using elliptical machines.
• Light isotonic exercises such as using handgrips or weight lifting (frequent repetitions with low amounts of weight).

The Pro Circuit Exercise Program,fills this prescription perfectly in that it alternates periods of aerobic exercise with periods of isotonic (weight training) exercise.
But before beginning any exercise program, if you are a healthy but sedentary woman over the age of fifty or a man over the age of forty, remember that the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you should always consult with your physician and have a preexercise medical examination. This is even more important if you have high blood pressure, chest pains, high cholesterol, or any serious risk factors for heart disease, or if you are a smoker.