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February is American Heart Month and the perfect time to show yourself some love by taking care of your ticker.
First, it’s important to know the facts:
Adopting healthy lifestyle choices can be overwhelming, so it can be helpful to focus on one healthy habit at a time. (Often once you start to experience the benefits, you may find yourself motivated to take on more changes!)
At SportsMed Physical Therapy, we are experts in the human body and its performance, so naturally, we’ll focus on physical activity. In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of exercise in relation to heart health and reducing the risk of heart disease and related conditions.
Physical activity of all kinds has a wide variety of positive effects on both mind and body, from improved cognition to better balance. In terms of heart health, cardiovascular fitness is important when it comes to improving risk factors for heart disease, many of which your doctor may test through blood work. These exercise-induced benefits include:
While improvements in your annual blood test results are certainly helpful, regular physical activity also impacts other areas of your life you may not typically “measure.” Physical activity also has positive impacts on heart health by:
So now that we know how important regular physical activity is when it comes to heart health, you might be wondering: what’s the BEST type of exercise for heart health? (And how much is needed?)
In some ways, the best type of physical activity is the kind you enjoy the most – because you are more likely to engage in it consistently. (And like most things in life, there is no quick fix when it comes to exercise – so you should plan to be in it for the long haul.)
However, there are some generally accepted recommendations of the best type of physical activity to do for heart health, which we’ll discuss in our next post.
If you found this article helpful, we’d love it if you shared it with someone you love!