Heart Disease is an umbrella term covering a broad range of heart conditions that affect heart structure and function. Heart disease encompasses conditions such as Heart Failure, Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, Heart Attack and Blood Vessel Disease.
Heart Disease affects over 1.2 million adult Australians and represents 1 in 5 deaths in Australia.
Key risk factors for developing Hear Disease include:
- Obesity
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Sedentary Lifestyle and inactivity.
Sadly, many of these risk factors listed above are completely preventable.
While there are genetic and environmental factors that can influence risk factors such as high cholesterol and (to a degree) obesity, they can be avoided or at least controlled with a healthy lifestyle.
With a relatively healthy lifestyle, Australians could be avoiding thousands of unnecessary deaths each day.
So how much exercise should we be doing?
The World Health Organisation recently released new physical activity guidelines. These guidelines are no different for those with Heart Disease and other Chronic Health Conditions.
For adults up to age 64, getting at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, or minimum 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise, per week can reduce the risk for early death, heart disease, hypertension, cancer and Type 2 diabetes, the report said.
Regardless of who you are, WHO has a few core principles in mind:
- Everyone can benefit from being more active than sedentary.
- Doing some physical activity, no matter what it is, is better than doing none.
- You can start small and slow and increase your frequency, intensity and duration over time.
- You can strengthen your muscles at home or in the gym (when safe).
- Physical activity is good for our hearts, bodies and minds.
For those living with a Chronic Health Condition, such as Heart Disease, these recommendations might seem like a lot.
If this is the case, start small! Even by starting with 10 minutes of gentle walking each day, you are getting up to 70 minutes of movement each week.
When this starts to feel easy, make that walk a little more challenging. Maybe you add a little hill in, or some steps.
From there, add a couple of minutes to each walk, and you will be getting up to 75 – 80 minutes per week!
It’s all about simply doing more than you currently are.
If you do nothing at the moment, 10 minutes a day will make a huge impact on your long-term health.
Need help getting started? We would love to help!
You may even qualify for Medicare assistance. Click here to learn more on bulk billing for Chronic Health Conditions.
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