Kenneth Gardner
ON ST. VALENTINE'S Day, the heart literally or figuratively comes into focus. If you have been exercising you shouldn't be surprised that you are coping with all the excitement.
The heart's unique muscle structure makes it very responsive to exercise. The heart is the focal point of the cardiovascular system; it transports blood with oxygen and nutrients, as well as metabolic waste to or from organs and tissues. One of the best ways to improve the heart's function is to exercise regularly. The heart's muscle make-up causes it to improve and respond to exercise in a similar fashion as our skeletal muscles respond to exercise.
One of the most efficient ways to monitor the effects of exercise on your body is to measure your heart rate. When you exercise at heart rates between 65 and 90 per cent of maximum heart rate, the heart achieves more benefits. You can achieve significant health benefits by exercising at the lower levels of your target zone; so don't feel pressured to exercise at an unnecessarily intense level.
EXERCISE YOUR HEART
By exercising at a lower intensity, you can increase the duration and frequency of your exercise session. In monitoring our heart rate, you will always know if you are working hard enough to improve, not hard enough or too hard. To monitor our heart rate during exercise, count your pulse while you are still moving or immediately after you stop exercising.
Exercise improves the heart's own blood supply. Angina pectoris is manifested as pain in the chest; this is a signal that the heart is not getting enough oxygen to supply its needs. As the heart improves due to improvements in its own circulation system, discomforts such as angina pectoris can be prevented.
Exercise helps to improve the electrical functions that control our heart beat and prevent disruptions that could result in the heart beating too quickly or too slowly or irregularly. Disruptions in the heart rate, function or arrhythmia is an important sign of a heart problem that could result in a heart attack.
Exercise is an important factor in a variety of the diagnostic and treatment protocol for heart disease. A stress or exercise test is used to generate the responses of the heart that characterise changes in the heart's electrical activities while the organ is under stress. This can reveal specific heart problems such as restricted blood flow muscles, blockages in the heart's pathways and electrical malfunction.
High blood pressure, heart attack, atherosclerosis, rheumatic fever and birth defects can damage the heart's pumping mechanism. When the heart cannot maintain its regular pumping rate as well as its force, fluid seeps through the capillary walls and cause swelling, especially in the legs and ankles. Poor circulation can also cause fluid to collect in the lungs that will disturb our breathing. These problems complicate the functions of the heart. However, with the inclusion of regular physical exercise and the improvements in the heart's response to work, the risks of heart problems can be reduced significantly.
People who are sedentary develop heart disease an average of five to six years earlier than those who are active.
Regular exercise makes for healthier hearts and healthier hearts could make happier Valentines!
Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at the G. C. Foster College of Physical Education; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
