Be your heart’s best friend—focus on your exercise heart rate

Let’s be real—there’s no one magical way to keep your heart healthy. But regular exercise and a healthy diet are two key components for the best heart health. And an easy first step is achieving a healthy heart rate while you exercise.

You probably know that your heart is one of the body’s organs. But did you know that the heart is made of muscle? Just like other muscles in your body, your heart needs exercise regularly to strengthen the muscle and keep it functioning at its best.

See why physical activity is so important for your heart—and how to keep your heart in great shape.

Best exercise for heart health

Physical inactivity is one of the risk factors for heart disease. Any exercise that gets your heart pumping faster can help lower your risk.

Most adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of strenuous physical activity each week, based on recommendations from the American Heart Association (AHA). That doesn’t mean you have to do it all at once. Try sneaking in 10-minute bursts of activity throughout your week if it works better for your schedule.

A quality cardiovascular exercise (cardio) is an activity that repeats and involves vigorous movement of large muscles. Brisk walking, jogging, swimming, bicycling, taking the stairs, or mowing the lawn are all activities that can improve your heart health. Ultimately though, the best exercise for heart health is an exercise you enjoy. Whether you’re lifting weights at a fast pace or running a 5K, moving your body in a way that motivates you to keep going is best for your heart long-term.

Your exercise heart rate and why it matters

When it comes to strengthening your heart, it’s important to choose an activity that gets your heart pumping faster. Regularly challenging your heart to work a little harder supplies your muscles with more oxygen and energy, flushes out waste in the muscle, and makes your heart pump more efficiently. It also helps prevent heart events, such as heart attack and stroke.

So, how do you know if your heart is working hard enough? Your heart rate can be a good indicator.

During exercise, you want to try to reach your target heart rate, which varies depending on your age. For moderate physical activity (things like brisk walking, jogging, or swimming), you want your heart rate to be between 50–70% of your maximum heart rate. For strenuous activity, a healthy exercise heart rate is 70–80% of your maximum heart rate. The AHA has a helpful chart with target heart rate zones.

Benefits of cardio exercise

Regular, moderate cardio exercise has many potential benefits, including:

• Improves heart failure symptoms
• Reduces stress and improves mood
• Increases energy levels
• Lowers blood pressure, bad cholesterol and fat in the blood
• Improves circulation
• Helps you lose weight
• Makes your heart and lungs work better
• Improves quality of life

Exercise’s perfect partner: foods for heart health

As you ramp up your exercise routine, you also want to fuel your body with healthy foods. But instead of looking for a specific diet plan, focus on practicing the basics of healthy eating. Some simple changes can make a big difference. Try the following:

• Reduce how many processed foods you eat. Instead, fill your plate with whole foods.
• Review the label on the foods you buy to check for high levels of saturated fat or trans-fat, added sugar, and extra sodium, which you should try not to eat.
• Avoid fad diets, such as the 3-Day Cardiac diet because they can be unhealthy and unsustainable. If you prefer a plan, try the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet or the Mediterranean diet.

Find heart healthy recipes and learn more about healthy eating. 

Talk to heart and vascular experts for additional support

Getting active and eating well are helpful lifestyle changes for your heart health, but sometimes, you need more. When your heart’s at stake, you want heart experts caring for you. And that’s what we want for you, too. At LCMC Health, we offer the advanced heart and vascular care you need—right here in New Orleans.