Choosing the best exercise for heart health

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are four pillars of a heart-healthy lifestyle including eating a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and exercising regularly.

To exercise for heart health, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise each week, plus at least two days of moderate-to-high-intensity strength training.

Why does exercise improve cardiovascular health?

Like any muscle, your heart will get stronger and fitter if you exercise it regularly. Exercise improves the heart's ability to deliver blood and oxygen to tissues and organs while also increasing muscle mass and losing weight, which are linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, says Dr. Leda Ghannad, a sports medicine specialist at Rush University Medical Center.

Additionally, exercise helps the heart build new arteries and capillaries, which helps prevent heart attacks, lowers cholesterol, and helps regulate blood sugar.

Although any type of physical activity benefits the heart, some forms are particularly effective, such as running, dancing, playing tennis, etc.

The best physical activities for heart health

Jogging

To take care of your heart, you should run every day. According to a large study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, runners have a 30% lower risk of premature death from any cause and a 45% lower risk of premature death from heart disease than non-runners.

Therefore, even jogging for just 5 to 10 minutes a day at a low pace can reduce the risk of death from heart disease.

Dancing

A large study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine linked moderate-intensity dancing to a lower risk of early death from heart disease. The reason for this is that dancers often practice regularly and for many years, which brings long-term health benefits.

Furthermore, dancing also provides psychosocial benefits — such as improved mood, self-confidence, and relationship building — which are also linked to improved cardiovascular health.

You can choose any form of dance like zumba, hip hop…

Tennis

According to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, racket sports (including tennis, badminton and squash) are associated with a reduced risk of premature death from cardiovascular events, making them one of the best forms of exercise for heart health.

This is because racket sports are high intensity and involve many different muscle groups, forcing the heart to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. The harder the heart works, the healthier it becomes.

Walk

Walking is a suitable form of exercise to improve cardiovascular health for people with cardiovascular disease or elderly people with joint problems.

While any form of walking is good for your heart, research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that the faster your stride, the better the results. So when you walk, you can increase the intensity of your steps, walk faster to get more health benefits.

Cycling

Cycling is one of the best exercises you can do for cardiovascular health because it gets your heart rate up but is low impact on your joints. It's also an option for people who can't (or don't want to) run.

Yoga andTai Chi

This form of exercise is great for older adults or people with a history of heart disease who cannot do high-intensity exercise because the exercises put less stress on the heart but still increase muscle mass and lower blood pressure.

In fact, a May 2019 study in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention found that yoga improved heart disease risk factors, including blood pressure, heart rate, obesity, and cholesterol levels. Part of this may be due to the relaxing effects of meditation.

However, it's important to note that yoga and tai chi don't get your heart rate up as much as high-intensity exercise, so you'll have to do them for a longer period of time to see benefits for your heart.

In addition to the above forms of exercise, you can practice resistance exercises, HIIT to improve cardiovascular health, control blood sugar, blood pressure and heart function.

Additional tips for maintaining heart-healthy exercise

Instead of doing one or two long workouts a week, break your workouts into smaller chunks, like a 15-minute walk each morning and evening. Choose a form of exercise you enjoy and do it regularly, whether it’s dancing, walking or running, resistance training, etc. Join a class or find a workout buddy to walk or run with.

Maintaining regular physical activity is key to heart health, even if you can't do it for the recommended amount of time, even a short amount of time can improve heart function.