Heart disease is a serious condition that can be fatal if you do not take steps to manage it. While some forms of heart disease are inherited, others are due to unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Being overweight, smoking, eating too much fat and cholesterol, and not getting enough exercise all raise your risk. You can reduce your risk by making healthier choices, such as starting a walking program. Walking can provide many benefits if you have heart disease, but you need to check with your doctor before starting any new exercise program.
Walking Supports Weight Loss
Being sedentary is a major risk factor for heart disease, according the American Heart Association. Walking can reduce your risk of developing heart disease and prevent the condition from getting worse if you have already been diagnosed. Walking can help you to lose weight. Being overweight places extra demands on your heart muscle, which can lead to heart disease. Shedding those extra pounds can reduce the workload on your heart. You want to aim for at least 30 minutes of brisk walking on most days of the week. If this is too much, break it up into shorter sessions and then slowly work up to one long session.
Walking Lowers Cholesterol
Taking a moderately paced walk can help lower your cholesterol. High cholesterol can lead to plaque buildup on the walls of your arteries. As the arteries narrow, your heart must work harder to pump blood through your body. While more research is needed to clearly understand the connection, it may be that exercise stimulates your body to get rid of the "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoproteins or LDLs). For reasons not well understood, it also seems to raise your level of "good" cholesterol (high density lipoproteins or HDLs). Researches at Duke University claim that cholesterol needs to attach to proteins to move through your blood. Regular exercise tends to support the attachment of cholesterol to large protein particles, which are better designed to help your body get rid of the bad cholesterol and keep the good cholesterol.
Walking Controls Blood Pressure
Walking on a regular basis can help lower your blood pressure. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), exercise can decrease the systolic and diastolic values by about 10 points. This can occur within weeks of starting a walking program. Once your blood pressure numbers go down, your risk of dying from heart disease goes down as well. In addition, if your blood pressure is at the high end of normal, walking may prevent high blood pressure. The ACSM states that you can get benefits from a moderate pace and that you do not need to work out hard. Find a level that feels right for you and slowly progress to a more vigorous level as your body is ready.
Walking Manages Stress Levels
Stress has been linked to many diseases, including heart disease, but the Mayo Clinic states that walking can help improve mood. It can be a great way to lower stress levels. Moderate exercise, including walking, can release mood boosting hormones. You can also turn walking sessions into a meditation practice if you allow yourself to remain 100 percent present in the moment as you walk. One approach is to pay attention to each step you take and listen to the sounds around you. This process can help you shift your mind away from stressful thoughts, which allows your nervous system to calm down.
