5 minute read
The importance of exercise and heart health (hint: it’s crucial)
Published February 7, 2024
Life's a journey, and wellness is yours to explore.
Each day offers a new chance, and it's never too late to start (or keep going). Remember, every step counts—even the small ones—because building healthy habits is always a win.
What effect does exercise have on my cardiovascular system?
Your heart and blood vessels make up your cardiovascular system. It's also called the circulatory system. That’s because your heart circulates about 2,000 gallons of blood around your body each day to deliver oxygen and nutrients and remove waste products (like carbon dioxide).¹
Regular exercise not only builds muscle, but also a stronger cardiovascular system. When you're active, your heart and lungs increase their output to supply your muscles with the oxygen they need. As your fitness level improves, your heart and lungs become more efficient at delivering oxygen. And with this comes a nice change: workouts that once left you tired and out of breath now feel easier to handle.²
How does exercise reduce my risk of heart disease and stroke?
Adding more movement in your day can nurture your heart in multiple ways. It can help strengthen your heart, manage your weight, and avoid the damage to blood vessels caused by high cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure—reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.³
What impact does exercise have on_____________?
Blood pressure
Regular exercise strengthens the heart, making it more efficient at pumping blood. This reduces the pressure on arteries, leading to lower blood pressure.⁴
Cholesterol
Exercise helps eliminate harmful LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol by increasing beneficial HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. Losing weight also increases HDL cholesterol.⁵ Know your numbers with Quest’s Cholesterol (Lipid) Panel or Total Cholesterol Test.
Diabetes prevention or management
Exercise boosts the body's response to insulin. It can help to maintain a healthy weight and blood sugar levels. If you’re living with type 2 diabetes, exercise also lowers your risk of heart disease and nerve damage.⁶ Learn if you’re at risk for diabetes with Quest’s Diabetes Risk Panel or Hemoglobin A1c Test.
Weight management and overall health
Exercise can help with weight management and weight loss. It can also lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, bone loss, and some cancers. Plus, it's a great stress buster and mood booster.⁷
What about aerobic exercise, strength training, and flexibility workouts? Are they good for heart health?
Exercise is a powerful tool for keeping your heart healthy and strong. To better understand how, let's look at the different types of exercises, what they involve, and how each promotes heart health.
Aerobic exercise (running, walking, biking, hiking, swimming)³ ⁸
Helps keep your heart, lungs, and circulatory system healthy and boosts overall fitness. Regular aerobic exercise also helps control blood sugar levels and lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Strength training (lifting weights, push-ups, lunges, squats)³ ⁹
Helps strengthen your bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments while improving your quality of life. A combination of aerobic exercise and strength training can help raise good cholesterol (HDL) and lower bad cholesterol (LDL).
Flexibility workouts (stretching, yoga, Pilates, tai chi)³ ¹⁰
Helps prevent muscle issues and improve your flexibility, balance, and strength. While these workouts don't directly contribute to heart health, they’re an important part of keeping up with aerobic exercise and strength training, which do benefit heart health.
Just starting out? Let’s walk before we sprint!
Before starting a new exercise routine, we recommend talking with your doctor first.
If you’re new to exercising, you’re not alone—everyone starts somewhere. The most important thing is to work your way up over time and build a lifelong habit. So, go ahead and start at your own pace, try new things, listen to your body, and celebrate every win.
Where are you on your fitness journey?
Knowing where you are allows you to set your sights on where you want to go. And that knowing might begin with a lot of health markers. Below is a breakdown of fitness tests on questhealth.com that can help:
- The Fitness Profile – Essentials is designed for those who want to begin or optimize a successful fitness routine. This profile can help you design a customized workout plan, adjust your diet for better results, and reach your fitness goals faster.
- The Fitness Profile – Nutrition is designed for those with nutrition goals in mind. This profile gives you the inside scoop on your diet and nutritional needs to help you create an enhanced nutritional plan.
- The Fitness Profile – Elite is designed for athletes training at high volumes and intensities who want to improve their performance, endurance, training, recovery, and nutrition.
All fitness profiles come with a one-on-one talk with a doctor to go over your results and set health and fitness goals that you can measure (and achieve).
Find even more at questhealth.com
- Fitnescity VO2 Max Test measures your fitness level by identifying your body's maximum oxygen uptake during exercise.
- Fitnescity DEXA Body Composition Scan looks closely at your body to see how much lean and fat mass you have. It helps you understand what's going on inside for a better picture of your health, because the scale doesn’t tell the whole story.
- Fitnescity Resting Metabolic Rate Test gives a precise measurement of how many calories your body needs each day. This helps you learn more about your metabolism and design a personalized weight management program.
Better understand your heart health
Most people with high levels of cholesterol and lipoprotein(a) don't know it because they don’t have any symptoms. Understand your levels with Quest’s High-Risk Heart Health Lipid and Lp(a) Panel.
The hsCRP Test for Inflammation Marker can detect low levels of inflammation and help you understand if you could be at risk of developing heart disease. A low level of inflammation that doesn't go away could be a sign of atherosclerosis (when cholesterol and other fats build up in the arteries).
No doctor visit is required to buy your own lab test at questhealth.com. PWNHealth and its affiliates review your purchase to ensure it is medically appropriate before submitting the test order for processing. PWNHealth also reviews your test results and will contact you directly if they require prompt attention. Included in each purchase is the option to discuss your test results with an independent physician; however, you are also encouraged to speak with your primary healthcare provider.
References
- Cleveland Clinic. Cardiovascular system. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21833-cardiovascular-system.
- American Lung Association. Exercise and lung health. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/wellness/exercise-and-lung-health.
- Johns Hopkins Medicine. 3 kinds of exercise that boost heart health. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/3-kinds-of-exercise-that-boost-heart-health.
- Mayo Clinic. Exercise: A drug-free approach to lowering high blood pressure. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood-pressure/art-20045206.
- Cleveland Clinic. Does exercise lower cholesterol? Accessed January 24, 2024. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/does-exercise-lower-cholesterol.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Get active! Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/active.html.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Physical activity. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/physical-activity-and-obesity.
- American Heart Association. Endurance exercise. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/endurance-exercise-aerobic.
- American Heart Association. Strength and resistance training exercise. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/strength-and-resistance-training-exercise.
- American Heart Association. Flexibility exercise (stretching). Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/flexibility-exercise-stretching.