Give your heart a workout
Exercise - heart workout; CAD prevention - workout; Cardiovascular disease prevention - workout
Being physically active is one of the best things you can do for your heart. Regular exercise helps reduce your risk for heart disease and adds years to your life.
You do not need to spend hours in the gym every day to see benefits. Moving your body just 30 minutes a day is enough to improve your heart health.
If you have diabetes or heart disease, talk to your health care provider before starting an exercise program.
The Benefits of Exercise
Exercise helps your heart in several ways.
- Burns calories. This can help you lose extra pounds (kilograms) or stay at a healthy weight. Being overweight is a major risk factor for heart disease.
- Lowers blood pressure. Doing some type of moderate aerobic exercise, for 30 to 60 minutes on most days of the week, can help lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is another major risk factor for heart disease.
- Reduces stress. Regular exercise is a proven stress buster. Experts are not sure if stress plays a direct role in heart disease. But it may contribute to other risk factors.
- Lowers cholesterol. Exercise can lower your LDL ("bad" cholesterol level). A high LDL level is a major risk factor for heart disease.
The Best Activities for Your Heart
When done properly, any kind of exercise can be good for your body. But aerobic exercise is the best type for your heart. Aerobic exercise is any activity that uses the large muscles in your body and gets your heart beating faster.
To benefit your heart, experts recommend getting at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise on most days with a target of 150 minutes per week. This is 2.5 hours a week. You can also break this up into a few 10- or 15-minute sessions each day. Moderate aerobic exercises include:
- Dancing
- Hiking on flat ground
- Bicycling at less than 10 mph
- Moderate walking (2.5 to 3.5 mph)
- Golf (not using a cart)
- Downhill skiing
- Tennis (doubles)
- Softball
- Swimming
- Gardening
- Light yard work
For even more heart benefits, consider adding some vigorous activity to your week. If all your exercise is vigorous, aim to get at least 75 minutes each week. Vigorous aerobic exercises include:
- Brisk walking (3.5 to 4.0 mph)
- Bicycling at more than 10 mph
- Hiking uphill
- Cross-country skiing
- Stair climbing
- Soccer
- Jogging
- Jumping rope
- Tennis (singles)
- Basketball
- Heavy yard work
Track the Intensity of Your Workout
You can tell if your workout is moderate or vigorous by paying attention to how your body feels while you exercise.
The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale ranks exertion from 6 to 20. During exercise, choose the number that best describes how hard you are working.
- 6 = No exertion
- 7 = Extremely light
- 8
- 9 = Very light, such as slow walking or easy chores
- 10
- 11 = Light
- 12
- 13 = Somewhat hard, requires effort but doesn't make you out of breath
- 14
- 15 = Hard
- 16
- 17 = Very hard, you really have to push yourself
- 18
- 19 = Extremely hard, the highest level of exercise you can keep up
- 20 = Maximal exertion
A moderate level of exercise is usually from 12 to 14. Vigorous exercise is usually a 15 or higher. You can adjust the level of your workout by slowing down or speeding up.
Track Your Target Heart Rate
To see the direct effects of exercise on your heart, track your target heart rate, which is about 50% to 85% of your maximum heart rate, based on your age. This range gives your heart the most benefit.
To find your target heart rate:
- Take a brief break from exercising to take your pulse. To measure your pulse at the wrist, place your index and middle fingers on the inside of your opposite wrist, below the base of the thumb. To measure your pulse at the neck, place your index and middle fingers to the side of the Adam's apple.
- Count the number of beats you feel for 10 seconds.
- Multiply this number by 6 to give you the beats per minute.
Find your age and target heart rate:
- 20 years old -- 100 to 170 beats per minute
- 30 years old -- 95 to 162 beats per minute
- 35 years old -- 93 to 157 beats per minute
- 40 years old -- 90 to 153 beats per minute
- 45 years old -- 88 to 149 beats per minute
- 50 years old -- 85 to 145 beats per minute
- 55 years old -- 83 to 140 beats per minute
- 60 years old -- 80 to 136 beats per minute
- 65 years old -- 78 to 132 beats per minute
- 70 years old -- 75 to 128 beats per minute
To find your approximate maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.
For moderate intensity exercise, your target heart rate should be 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate.
For vigorous exercise, your target heart rate should be 70% to 85% of your maximum heart rate.
When you first start exercising, aim for the lower number for your age range. As you get fitter, you can slowly work towards the higher number.
If your heart rate is lower than your target heart rate, you may not be exercising hard enough to benefit your heart. If your heart rate is higher than your target, you may be exercising too hard.
Some blood pressure medicines can lower your target heart rate. If you take medicine for high blood pressure, ask your doctor what range is healthy for you.
When to Call the Doctor
If it's been a while since you were active, you should check with your provider before starting any new activity. Also, to make sure you are healthy enough for exercise, check with your provider if you have:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- A heart condition
- Another health problem
References
American Heart Association website. Target heart rates.
Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al. 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2019;140(11):e596-e646. PMID: 30879355
Borg GA. Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1982;14(5):377-381. PMID: 7154893
Buchner DM, Kraus WE. Physical activity. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 13.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Physical activity basics.
Thompson PD, Baggish AL. Exercise and sports cardiology. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Tomaselli GF, Bhatt DL, Solomon SD, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 32.
Piercy KL, Troiano RP, Ballard RM,et al. The physical activity guidelines for Americans. JAMA. 2018:20;320(19):2020-2028.. PMID: 30418471
Version Info
Last reviewed on: 5/12/2022
Reviewed by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
