Overview
A sedentary lifestyle is among the major risk factors for heart disease. As stated by the World Heart Federation, insufficient exercise may increase your risk for heart disease by 50 percent. Other risk factors include:
- Diet high in saturated fat
- type 2 diabetes
- hypertension or hypertension
- smoking
- high cholesterol
- obesity
- family history of heart disease
Reducing these risk factors may decrease your likelihood of heart attack or stroke and your requirement for heart-related medical procedures, including bypass surgery.
Staying active is a great way to decrease your risk of heart disease. Regular, aerobic exercise like walking was proven to improve heart health. It may even reverse some risk factors for cardiovascular disease by helping with weight loss and lowering blood pressure.
However, exercise can sometimes increase the chance of a heart attack, especially in those people who have cardiovascular disease and aren’t tracking their actions properly.
Find out more about the signs of heart problems during a workout and what you can do to treat and prevent them.
Why You Need to take precautions
Exercise is vital in helping to prevent cardiovascular disease. It’s generally safe for most people, but you should take precautions, especially if:
- Your doctor has told you that you have one or more of those risk factors for heart disease
- You have recently experienced a heart attack or other heart problem
- You have been inactive formerly
Individuals with heart disease could always exercise safely if they are evaluated beforehand. However, exercise isn’t suitable for many people with heart disease. If you are new to exercise, the secret is to start off slow to prevent negative consequences. Speak with your health care provider before starting a new exercise program. You also might have to begin your workout under medical supervision.
Despite these measures, it can be difficult for your doctor to predict health issues that you might encounter while exercising. To be safe, familiarize yourself with symptoms that may indicate harmful complications. Becoming conscious of some typical warning signals of a heart-related difficulty might be lifesaving.
Signals of heart trouble
Even in the event that you’ve already had a heart attack, another one could have completely different symptoms. Seek medical attention immediately if you notice any of the following symptoms.
Chest discomfort
Many men and women associate sudden and extreme chest pain with a heart attack. Some heart attacks can begin this way. But many start with a feeling of mild discomfort, uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, or fullness in the middle of the torso. The pain can be subtle and might come and go, so it can be hard to tell what’s wrong. Stop exercising and seek medical care in case this symptom lasts for more than a few minutes.
Shortness of breath
A sense of unusual breathlessness with chest discomfort during an activity is often a precursor to a heart attack. This symptom may occur before chest discomfort or may even happen with no chest discomfort.
Dizziness or light-headedness
While physical activity could make you feel fatigued, particularly if you’re not used to it, then you shouldn’t ever feel dizzy or light-headed while exercising. Just take this warning sign seriously and stop exercising right away.
Heart rhythm abnormalities
The feeling of your heartbeat skipping, palpitating, or thumping could indicate a heart-related problem. Seek medical care if you observe any unusual heart rhythms during your workout.
Discomfort in other Regions of the entire body
Heart problems can lead to sensations in different regions of the body besides your chest. Symptoms may include pain, distress, or stress in the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach. You may also experience discomfort radiating from one part of your body to another, such as from the chest, jaw, or neck in your shoulder, arm, or back.
Unusual sweating
Although sweating during exercise is ordinary, nausea and breaking into a cold sweat are warning signs of a potential problem. Some men and women who have experienced heart attacks have reported a feeling of foreboding or impending doom.
Call 911
If it comes to dealing with a potential heart problem, timing is crucial. Every moment counts. Do not take a wait-and-see strategy or try to push through your workout. Seek medical assistance if you believe you may be experiencing some of the warning signs over.
The American Heart Association recommends waiting no more than a few minutes — five minutes at most — to call 911. Your heart may stop beating through a heart attack. Emergency employees have the knowledge and equipment required to get it beating again.
Have somebody else drive you to the hospital immediately if you’re experiencing heart attack symptoms and can not call 911. Avoid getting behind the wheel unless there are not any other options.
Be ready
Be prepared to answer the following questions should you find yourself in the emergency room after experiencing troubling signs during exercise:
- What time did your distress or pain begin?
- What were you doing when your discomfort or pain started?
- Was the pain at its most extreme level immediately, or did it gradually build to a summit?
- Can you notice any extra symptoms in association with the distress, such as nausea, sweating, lightheadedness, or palpitations?
- On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst, what number do you use to explain your distress at this time?
Answering these questions to the best of your ability will help your medical team to provide you with the very best possible care, which could save your own life.
Outlook
Approximately 600,000 Americans die from heart disease every year. Exercise is 1 way to fight this particular statistic, but it is important to do so with care. It can be beneficial to use a heart rate monitor when you exercise — aim for 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. Make sure you report any warning signals of heart problems during a workout.