Ischemic heart disease is a pathological condition in which the heart does not receive enough blood and oxygen. It is caused by narrowing or obstruction of the coronary arteries.
It can manifest as chest pain, angina pectoris, or myocardial infarction. Frequent symptoms, along with angina pectoris, include difficulty breathing, sweating, nausea and vomiting, feeling of fatigue, and fainting.
Risk factors of ischemic heart disease include: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, diabetes, physical inactivity, family history.
Along with medications and surgical and percutaneous interventions, which aim to restore blood flow in the coronary arteries, the treatment of ischemic heart disease cannot be separated from a healthy lifestyle that includes diet and regular physical activity.
Controlled physical activity, in fact, promotes cardiovascular health by strengthening the heart and improving circulation, and importantly affects risk factors such as hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes.
Among the guidelines on cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation, ischemic heart disease represents the condition in which exercise programs are most frequently recommended, either in the acute or post-intervention form, or in the chronic form.
Exercise, adapted to health conditions and carried out on a regular basis, even if modest in magnitude, is capable of producing significant beneficial effects.
The intensity of exercise, also detectable by HR, should not refer to absolute values, but to the physical and functional capacities of the person, and be administered with dose and threshold frequency, with the goal of activating protective biological mechanisms.
People with ischemic heart disease can engage in unrestricted physical activity, as long as it is adapted to the individual’s needs and fitness level, and administered by a true professional.
Recommended activities include walking, cycling swimming, pilates, yoga, water aerobics, dance.