Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: How to keep fit if you have angina
• Part 2 of 3: How to Maintain Quality Training if You Have Angina
• Part 3 of 3: Be Careful When Exercising
• Tips

Angina, meaning pain and discomfort in the heart, develops when your heart does not receive an adequate supply of oxygen-rich blood. It manifests itself as a feeling of pain, pressure, or tightness in the chest, arms, shoulders, or jaw. Angina is a symptom of heart disease that occurs when you are physically strained to the point where your body can no longer supply your heart with oxygen-rich blood quickly enough. This can happen when you exercise or even just climb stairs. However, if your angina is stable, exercise may even improve your condition. Aerobic exercise helps promote heart health and increase the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart at rest and activity. With your doctor's approval, gradually start adding safe exercise to your weekly schedule to maintain or even improve your heart health.

Attention:the information in this article is for informational purposes only.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: How to keep fit if you have angina

1. 1 Consult your doctor. If you have chronic angina, check with your doctor before embarking on any type of exercise program. He should give you permission to start exercising and give you advice on how to exercise safely.
   • Before you start exercising, ask your doctor if regular physical activity would be safe and appropriate for you. While exercise can improve the well-being of many angina patients, it is not for everyone.
   • Ask your doctor what type of exercise is best for you. Can you do cardio workouts? Should the intensity be low, or can you afford moderate or even high intensity exercise?
   • Also ask your doctor about what signs and symptoms would be a warning sign of danger. For example, if you experience chest pain while walking on a treadmill, what should be your plan of action?
2. 2 Track your heart rate while exercising. This will be a good habit if you are exercising for angina. This will help you understand how hard your heart is working.
   • Get a heart rate monitor.You can buy a heart rate monitor in the form of a bracelet or watch, but it's better to get a chest strap. It will be the most accurate.
   • When you first start an exercise program after being diagnosed with angina, it is generally recommended that you do low-intensity exercise that keeps your heart rate at about 50% of your maximum heart rate.
   • To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. If you are, for example, 60 years old, then your maximum heart rate will be 160 beats per minute.
   • Using a heart rate monitor, keep your heart rate at 50% of your maximum during exercise. For our example, the target heart rate would be 80 beats per minute.
   • With the permission of your doctor, you can gradually increase the intensity of the aerobic activity to 60 or 70% of the maximum rate. But don't try to reach your maximum heart rate during exercise.
   • There are various ways that people with angina can help adapt to exercise and improve exercise performance. Sometimes you can take nitroglycerin to improve the performance of your exercise, while other times, the exercise itself helps you adapt.
3. 3 Consider starting with a cardiac rehabilitation program. If you've recently been diagnosed with angina, your doctor may suggest that you attend a regular cardiac rehabilitation program. These are great programs that are supervised by a doctor and will help you get back to your regular workout routine.
   • A cardiac rehabilitation program is designed for outpatients who have had a heart attack or have chronic heart disease. They are designed to improve fitness levels while reducing symptoms and side effects.
   • Talk with your doctor about a cardiac rehabilitation program that can help improve your aerobic endurance, physical strength, and range of motion.
   • Stick to your program until you get permission to practice on your own. See your doctor regularly and monitor your cardiovascular health.
4. 4 Start with short, low-intensity workouts. Many people with angina are at a low level of fitness. This is especially true if you have had to move away from your usual exercise regimen for several weeks or months due to the diagnosis.
   • If you want to restore your heart's strength and endurance, it is recommended that you start with short, low-intensity workouts.
   • Starting with high-intensity training or exercising for an extended period of time can lead to recurrence of symptoms or worsening of your condition.
   • It is best to start with 15-20 minutes of low-intensity activity each day. If this workout seems too easy for you, the next day, increase the duration to 25-30 minutes, but do not increase the intensity.
5. 5 Choose a low intensity activity. This can be, for example, regular walking, walking in the water, cycling, or exercising on an elliptical trainer.
   • As your endurance improves and your physical fitness improves, you can very slowly increase the duration and then the intensity of your workouts.
   • Exercising like this can raise your heart rate, but you will have complete control over your heart rate as you exercise.
6. 6 Always set aside enough time to warm up and cool down. These two components are an important part of any type of physical activity. But they are even more important for safe training for cardiovascular disease.
   • As you gradually get in and out of an exercise session, it helps to slowly increase your heart rate and blood flow, and warm up your muscles. It also helps prevent injury.
   • If you have angina, it is imperative to warm up before exercising and cool down after. If you don't, you run the risk of overloading your heart too quickly, which can trigger symptoms of the disease.
   • Give your body and heart time to adapt to a higher level of activity. Start with a minimum of ten minutes warm-up: do very low-intensity aerobic exercise and light stretching.
   • Also let your heart and pulse slow down gradually. This can also be done with 10 minutes of low-intensity aerobic exercise and light stretching.
7. 7 Do not exercise in extreme weather conditions. Another aspect of safe exercise for angina is avoiding extreme weather conditions. You may be surprised at how much the weather can affect your condition.
   • It is not recommended to practice outdoors if it is too cold, hot or humid outside.
   • Being active in this weather increases the risk of heart problems.
   • If you don't want to skip workouts during inclement weather, exercise indoors. A jogging track, indoor pool or aerobics DVD are great alternatives.

Part 2 of 3: How to Maintain Quality Training if You Have Angina

1. 1 Start with 150 minutes of aerobic cardio per week. You may think that due to angina, your overall activity should be limited. But if your disease is stable, you should be able to do about 150 minutes of cardio activity per week.
   • Health professionals note that if the angina is stable and the person has received a doctor's approval, then they can safely meet the recommended physical activity goals.
   • It is recommended that you devote about 150 minutes a week to aerobic activity. Divide this activity into short intervals (especially if you are just starting out). Aim to exercise for 20 minutes 6 days a week. Or you can even train for 10 minutes 5 days a week.
   • Start with a low-intensity workout like walking or water aerobics. Over time, if you can, gradually increase the intensity to moderate activity, such as hiking, slow running, resistance elliptical training, or aerobics.
2. 2 Gradually add low-intensity strength training to your routine. In addition to cardio training, you need to work to improve muscle strength. Strength training or resistance training will complement your aerobic training.
   • Health professionals agree that most types of strength training will also work for people with angina.
   • Try to include 1–2 20 minutes of strength training per week in your routine. You can try free weight exercises, yoga, or Pilates.
   • It is worth limiting upper body exercises, as they tend to cause angina pectoris more than lower body exercises.
3. 3 Add more activity to your daily routine. In addition to structured workouts, try to increase your activity level in your daily life as well. This is a great way for people with angina to stay active and healthy.
   • To make your usual lifestyle more active, move more in your daily life. Go to the mailbox to check your mail, use the stairs instead of the elevator, dig in your vegetable garden or garden, mow the lawn, or sweep your home.
   • This activity doesn't burn a lot of calories or speed up your heart rate, but it keeps you moving and gently raises your heart rate to the point that it still benefits.
   • Many studies have shown that structured aerobic exercise and increased activity levels in daily life provide very similar health benefits.So if you can't do structured exercise for a long time, try first to just bring more movement into your daily life.
4. 4 Always include rest days. While regular physical activity is important for restoring aerobic strength, it is still necessary to incorporate regular rest days into your regimen.
   • Health and fitness experts recommend leaving one to two days a week for rest. If you are just starting your exercise regimen, you can rest up to three days a week.
   • Rest is important for a variety of reasons. First, it is during rest that you increase your strength, muscle size, and aerobic endurance.
   • Rest is also important for those with angina because you need to allow your heart and vascular system to rest and recover between workouts.

Part 3 of 3: Be Careful When Exercising

1. 1 Stop if you feel pain or discomfort. Exercise is recommended by many experts as it promotes recovery from diagnosed angina. But they also recommend being alert to symptoms.
   • Stop exercising immediately if you experience chest pain, difficulty breathing, or pressure in the chest area.
   • After you stop exercising, keep your heart rate low. Don't return to exercise even after the pain or discomfort has subsided. You need to rest.
   • If you feel pain or discomfort the next day or the next exercise, see your doctor immediately.
2. 2 Always carry your medicine with you. There are many medications that are prescribed to treat angina pectoris. Keep your medications with you at all times, especially when exercising.
   • One of the most common drugs prescribed for patients with angina pectoris is nitroglycerin. It also needs to be taken when you start to experience any of the symptoms of this condition. You must always have it with you.
   • In addition, those around you should be aware of your medical condition and where you store the medicine. If you have symptoms and cannot get your medication, others should be able to help you.
3. 3 Consider taking someone with you to your workouts. Another great idea for staying safe during exercise is with company. The person will help you deal with symptoms or serious problems if you cannot do it yourself.
   • While it's scary to think about it, symptoms can occur even if you're being treated for angina. These symptoms are usually mild, but sometimes they can become more serious or life-threatening.
   • Since exercise can trigger symptoms, consider bringing a friend or relative with you when you exercise. This should be someone who is aware of your condition, medications, and emergency plan.
   • Try going to the gym, walking, or cycling together. Having someone around, just in case, will make your workouts safer and you will feel more confident.

Tips

• Although angina is treatable, it is still a very serious heart condition. Never engage in physical activity until approved by your doctor.
• If you notice a worsening of symptoms, seek immediate medical attention.
• Don't be afraid to exercise if you have angina. Regular exercise can help you improve your heart health.