Cardiologist Jeremy Robbins, MD (right), recently joined Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Division of Cardiovascular Medicine explains how exercise is good for your heart and how exercise affects each individual.
How does exercise help the heart?
Benefits of Aerobic Exercises
Aerobics is a physical exercise that includes activities like dance, cycling, running, stretching and many more. Aerobic exercise can benefit your health in many ways.
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‘People who are inactive and have poor cardiorespiratory fitness have a substantially higher risk for developing cardiovascular diseases compared with people who are active and have even modestly higher fitness levels.’
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Exercise has been described as a "super pill" because it delivers so many health benefits. Among the dozens of benefits, regular exercise makes the heart more efficient at pumping and receiving blood, lowers blood pressure, and improves blood flow to coronary arteries. It also improves cholesterol measures.
What are the risks of being inactive?
This is true of all age groups, both men and women, and people with various medical conditions.
How hard do you have to exercise for it to help your heart?
![Quiz on Healthy Heart]( "Quiz on Healthy Heart")
Heart disease is a major killer worldwide in spite of major strides in the medical field in terms of research, diagnosis, treatment and pharmacology. HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer's disease are vying for popular attention these days and people tend to sideline or neglect healthy heart awareness. Take our quiz and refresh your awareness on heart disease.
It depends. The newly updated guidelines recommend 150 - 300 minutes of moderate intensity activity (brisk walking, heavy household cleaning, doubles tennis) each week. We know that more vigorous intensity exercise leads to bigger gains in cardiorespiratory fitness, but we're less clear on the effects of different exercise intensities on specific conditions, such as coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation. What we do know is that the biggest health benefits have been found among people who go from being sedentary, or inactive, to adding even a small amount of exercise into daily lives.
Do you always 'prescribe' exercise for your patients?
I do. My philosophy is to try to prescribe an exercise program that is appropriate and achievable for each individual. It cannot be overstated that the shift from no physical activity to even small amounts can lead to enormous health benefits. So, for the inactive patient, I suggest an easy entry into regular exercise, such as a short daily walk or achieving 5000 steps per day. For people who are already physically fit, I encourage them to keep building on the amount and intensity of their exercise program because as far as we know, there's no "cap" on the health benefits of exercise.
What is your research uncovering?
In my laboratory, we are measuring thousands of molecules that circulate in the blood before and after exercise. Through these analyses, we hope to identify specific chemicals that are involved in exercise-induced health benefits. Some of these chemicals could be useful as "biomarkers" to help us predict how an individual may respond to a given type of exercise, so that one day we could develop tailored exercise prescriptions for individuals or for specific health conditions.
What is your favorite type of exercise?
I most enjoy outdoor activity such as backpacking, hiking and kayaking. But on a day-to-day basis, I also enjoy cycling and circuit training to help get the blood flowing.
Source: Newswise
This is true of all age groups, both men and women, and people with various medical conditions.
How hard do you have to exercise for it to help your heart?
Quiz on Healthy Heart
Heart disease is a major killer worldwide in spite of major strides in the medical field in terms of research, diagnosis, treatment and pharmacology. HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer's disease are vying for popular attention these days and people tend to sideline or neglect healthy heart awareness. Take our quiz and refresh your awareness on heart disease.
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It depends. The newly updated guidelines recommend 150 - 300 minutes of moderate intensity activity (brisk walking, heavy household cleaning, doubles tennis) each week. We know that more vigorous intensity exercise leads to bigger gains in cardiorespiratory fitness, but we're less clear on the effects of different exercise intensities on specific conditions, such as coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation. What we do know is that the biggest health benefits have been found among people who go from being sedentary, or inactive, to adding even a small amount of exercise into daily lives.
Do you always 'prescribe' exercise for your patients?
I do. My philosophy is to try to prescribe an exercise program that is appropriate and achievable for each individual. It cannot be overstated that the shift from no physical activity to even small amounts can lead to enormous health benefits. So, for the inactive patient, I suggest an easy entry into regular exercise, such as a short daily walk or achieving 5000 steps per day. For people who are already physically fit, I encourage them to keep building on the amount and intensity of their exercise program because as far as we know, there's no "cap" on the health benefits of exercise.
What is your research uncovering?
In my laboratory, we are measuring thousands of molecules that circulate in the blood before and after exercise. Through these analyses, we hope to identify specific chemicals that are involved in exercise-induced health benefits. Some of these chemicals could be useful as "biomarkers" to help us predict how an individual may respond to a given type of exercise, so that one day we could develop tailored exercise prescriptions for individuals or for specific health conditions.
What is your favorite type of exercise?
I most enjoy outdoor activity such as backpacking, hiking and kayaking. But on a day-to-day basis, I also enjoy cycling and circuit training to help get the blood flowing.
Source: Newswise
Calculate Your Lifetime Risk of Heart Attack
Heart Risk Calculator assesses the lifetime risk for a heart attack and helps in making the right lifestyle choices to protect your heart.
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 Tips on Kegel Exercises/Pelvic Floor ExercisesKegel exercises are extremely helpful for urinary incontinence. Kegel exercises can also benefit women during pregnancy as these promote bladder control and can ease the labor and delivery process. | Advertisement
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