REDFEB is a month dedicated to raising awareness for heart health and raising much-needed funds for research. National Heart Valve Disease Day is February 22nd and National Wear Red Day is February 7th when many people wear red to show their support for the awareness of heart disease. This February, Heart Research Australia invite you to wear RED for someone close to your heart. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in 2022 – 6.7% of the adult population had 1 or more conditions related to cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Heart disease is still Australia’s leading cause of death and affects families and communities around the country. This can include any disease that affects the blood vessels, valves and heart e.g., hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure. CVDs can be caused by a build-up of plaque in the inner lining of the arteries (atherosclerosis) leading to a reduced or complete blockage of blood to the heart; this process is often slow and its effects aren’t noticed until later in life. Alternatively, if one or more of the valves in the heart fail to open or close properly (each valve in the heart has flaps that open and close with each heartbeat), the blood flow through your heart is disrupted leading to negative health effects and potentially heart valve disease.
There are risk factors for CVD that are non-modifiable including: age, sex and family history but there are a number of modifiable behavioural risk factors such as: poor diet, smoking and insufficient physical activity.
Benefits of exercise for those with CVD can include:
- delay progression of the disease
- improved quality of life and psychological well-being,
- preventing blood vessels from narrowing further
- averts blood clotting
- reduced load on heart at rest.
Both aerobic and resistance exercise can be beneficial for those with CVDs, the goal should be to start small (such as 5-10 minutes) and gradually build up time and intensity from there. Examples of exercise can include cycling, walking, exercise classes or playing a sport, but physical activity also includes everyday things like climbing the stairs and mowing the lawn.
Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs) are university qualified professionals equipped with the advanced knowledge to design safe and effective exercise programs for people living with, or at risk of developing CVD and related chronic health conditions.
Thorough evidence-based pre-screening and relevant fitness testing is conducted onsite at our state-of-the-art functional rehabilitation facility to gain an understanding of all the health conditions you are living with, how they impact your life and your current level of fitness. It may be recommended to start with supervised sessions at our facility under the experienced eye of our AEP’s, Nathan Walker or Scott Howard, or your program can be designed to be performed from home. We utilise a free exercise software program called Physitrack, which can be downloaded to your smart phone or tablet, which gives you the ability to message your therapist directly with feedback about your exercises.
If you want to exercise or know someone who does but aren’t sure how to get started, please book an appointment with one of our AEP’s today. They can help show you how to exercise at a safe and appropriate intensity to manage your CVD and start enjoying the physical, mental and emotional benefits.
