EXERCISE AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Despite dramatic reductions in cardiovascular disease (CVD) morality rates over the past 25 years, CVD remains the leading cause of death in the United States. Fortunately, there is much that you can do to protect yourself from this disease. Physically active patients reduce their risk by half compared to sedentary patients. You also need to eat smart, control stress, take your medications, and control your blood pressure.

Exercise is vital if you've already had a heart attack, balloon angioplasty, bypass surgery, or if you are affected by heart disease in some other way, like having chest pain when you exert yourself. Heart patients who increase their physical activity, boost their self-confidence, report less depression, stress, social isolation, and improve their overall sense of well-being. Exercise allows patients to a take an active, positive role in the management of their disease.

Aerobic exercise is particularly important for heart patients. Aerobic exercise refers to the use of large muscle groups rhythmically for prolonged periods - such as walking, jogging or biking. This sort of activity strengthens the heart and causes the veins and arteries to grow larger and more supple. As a result oxygen uptake improves, the heart demands less oxygen for a given level of activity, and blood pressure decreases. Further, aerobic exercise increases HDL, decreases LDL, and reduces total body fat.

Strength training is also important because it increases your physical capacity to perform daily functions without putting undue stress on your heart. It is also essential to weight management, makes you look and feel better, protects against osteoporosis, controls the effects of aging, and provides all sorts of additional benefits.

Losing weight can be a difficult challenge, but exercise makes weight management dramatically easier. Exercise burns calories directly, and indirectly as well, by increasing your basic metabolic rate as your muscles get bigger. Muscles are the furnace by which calories are burned. Fat burns virtually calories.

Personal Training Associates works with its clients to minimize the risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, and other chronic illnesses. We work one-on-one in the client's home or in one of our semi-private studios to develop individualized exercise programs and to assist in their execution. We begin by asking a series of questions about your health and fitness background, establish with you appropriate set of goals, and then design the best exercise program for getting you where you need to go. We emphasize proper form, safety and intensity. The goal is to integrate safe, efficient, exercise into your daily routine, so that you can get the benefits of being active for the rest of your life.

Our first consultation is free of charge or any obligation. Call 703-904-0053 if you have any questions, or to schedule your first session.