Exercise and heart health quiz

Physical inactivity is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. Thankfully that’s a risk factor that we can do something about. Cardiovascular exercise – such as walking, swimming and biking – can be a remedy for this major heart risk. And it’s never as much work as you think it is to be able to get benefits from exercise.

Studies have found that exercise helps strengthen your heart and its ability to be an effective pump. This improves circulation and how your body uses oxygen, providing benefits such as feeling less fatigued, less shortness of breath and having more energy.

The heart is a muscle, and by exercising you improve its strength and its ability function effectively. But the benefits don’t end with the heart. Exercise helps your body work more efficiently to control and reduce the risk of many diseases or conditions. Exercise has also been linked to reduced risk for some cancers, including breast and colorectal cancers, as well as for conditions such as osteoporosis.

For people who are aging who have low fitness and may have chronic conditions, making improvements to your fitness level can bring more independence. Exercise has been linked to being able to carry on activities of daily living in the community.

If you’re inactive to start with, even a small amount of exercise can be beneficial. Start in small steps: bouts as short as 10 minutes count, so you don’t have to find 30 to 60 minutes of available time. Try choosing a 10-minute period to go for a walk – whether it’s in the morning or between errands at lunchtime or getting off the bus or subway a stop or two early. Do that every other day for a couple of weeks. Then try to step up to 10 minutes every day, and do that for a couple of weeks. Over the following weeks, aim to add additional 10-minute bouts until you’re getting 150 minutes of exercise per week.

Yoga or lifting weights are great for stretching or strengthening, but don’t provide much cardiovascular benefit. Aerobic exercises, those that use large muscle groups rhythmically over time, are the best for cardiovascular health.

Moderate activity means you should feel some effort: you may feel warm, you may perspire, and you may be breathing more deeply, but you shouldn’t be gasping for breath. Try the “sing, talk, gasp” test: you should be working hard enough that you can’t sing, but you can still talk and carry on a conversation while you’re exercising. If you’re gasping for air and can’t talk, it’s a sign that you’re working too hard.