12 Facts About Heart Healthy Exercise

1. Physical activity is an important way to prevent heart disease – the nation’s No. 1 killer — and stroke, the nation’s No. 5 killer.
2. Do at least 2.5 hours of moderate intensity physical activity (think brisk walking), spread across the entire week, to improve your cardiovascular health.
3. Moderate-intensity activity gets your heart beating faster, causes you to break a sweat and makes you breathe harder. (Hint: You should be able to talk but not sing.)
4. Doing more than 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week can provide extra health benefits.
5. If time is an issue, and you’re able to, do 75 minutes or more of vigorous activity (at least at a jogging pace) each week to improve your cardiovascular health. (That’s equal to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity.)
6. All types of physical activity help your heart health. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk briskly around the mall, or take a dance class.
7. The simplest change you can make to improve your heart health is to replace sedentary behavior with lighter-intensity activities like walking.
8. People of all types, shapes, sizes and abilities can benefit from being physically active.
9. Doing some physical activity is better for your heart than doing nothing. But the more physical activity you do, the more benefit you gain.
10. If you have heart disease, you should exercise just as much as someone who does not have heart disease. But understand the risks; some activities may not be appropriate for you right now.
11. Talk with your doctor about the types and amounts of physical activity that are right for you if you have heart disease.
12. You are more likely to develop heart disease, have high blood pressure, have high blood cholesterol or have a stroke when you’re not regularly physically active.

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