)
Exercise is usually prescribed as part of a healthy lifestyle, and for good reason. Regular physical activity can lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, help control blood sugar and reduce the long-term risk of heart disease. But the idea that harder exercise is always better can be misleading.
For some people, especially those with an undiagnosed heart condition or several cardiovascular risk factors, sudden high-intensity exercise may place more strain on the heart than it can safely handle.
The problem is often not exercise itself. It is the jump from doing very little to demanding a lot from your body.
Your Heart Has To Work Harder During Intense Exercise
When you exercise at high intensity, your heart rate rises quickly and your heart has to pump more blood to the muscles. Blood pressure also increases temporarily. This is a normal response in a healthy person who is accustomed to exercise.
The situation can be different if you have coronary artery disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure, a heart rhythm disorder, a weakened heart muscle or certain structural heart conditions.
High-intensity workouts can include sprinting, heavy strength training, competitive sports, HIIT sessions and intense cycling. These activities are not automatically unsafe. The concern is whether your heart is prepared for that level of demand.
For example, someone who spends most of the week sitting and suddenly attempts a demanding 45-minute HIIT session may experience a much greater cardiovascular load than someone who has gradually built up their fitness over several months.
Sudden Exertion Can Expose An Underlying Problem
Some heart conditions produce few or no symptoms during everyday activities. A person may walk around the house, commute to work and climb a few stairs without trouble. The same person may develop symptoms when they suddenly start sprinting or lifting heavy weights.
This is one reason symptoms during exercise deserve attention.
Chest pressure or discomfort, unusual breathlessness, dizziness, fainting, a racing or irregular heartbeat, or a sudden drop in exercise capacity should not be dismissed as simply being out of shape. These symptoms can have several causes, but some require cardiac evaluation.
The risk is also higher when factors such as smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or a strong family history of premature heart disease are present.
Your Age Matters, But Your History Matters More
Being young does not completely protect you from cardiac problems during intense exercise. Some inherited heart conditions can remain unnoticed until strenuous activity places greater demand on the heart.
At the other end of the spectrum, people who begin intense exercise later in life may already have risk factors that have developed gradually over the years.
This does not mean you need extensive testing before every workout. For most healthy people without symptoms, regular exercise can be started safely with a sensible progression. However, if you have known heart disease, significant risk factors, unexplained exercise symptoms or a family history of sudden cardiac death, speak to your doctor before starting a high-intensity programme.
The goal is to know what level of exercise is appropriate for you.
Start With Fitness You Can Sustain
If you are returning to exercise after months or years of inactivity, start with moderate activity. Brisk walking, cycling at a comfortable pace, swimming or light strength training can help your body adjust.
You should be able to speak in short sentences during moderate activity. As your fitness improves, you can gradually increase duration and intensity.
For many adults, the general target is at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, along with muscle-strengthening activities on at least two days. You do not need to reach the vigorous target immediately.
A practical approach is to increase one factor at a time. Add a few minutes to your workout first. Then increase frequency or intensity. Give your body time to adapt.
Do Not Ignore Recovery
How you feel after exercise can provide useful information.
Persistent exhaustion, unusual muscle weakness, breathlessness that seems excessive for the effort, dizziness or repeated palpitations may mean your current training load needs to be reduced and assessed.
Rest days also matter. Training intensely every day can leave little room for recovery, particularly when sleep, nutrition and hydration are poor.
Heavy exercise combined with inadequate recovery can also make it harder to distinguish normal training fatigue from something that needs medical attention.
Choose Intensity Based On Your Heart, Not Your Ego
Fitness goals can change how you judge effort. You may feel pressure to run faster, lift heavier or match someone else's workout. Your heart does not care about the number on another person's fitness tracker.
A safer approach is to build capacity gradually and pay attention to how your body responds. If you have been inactive, start where you are. If you have a diagnosed heart condition, follow the exercise limits and recommendations given by your healthcare team.
High-intensity exercise can be appropriate for many people. It can improve cardiovascular fitness when introduced at the right time and at the right dose. But intensity should be earned through gradual conditioning, rather than added suddenly.
Your heart benefits from regular movement. It does not necessarily benefit from proving how hard you can push it.
(By Dr Dibya Ranjan Behera, Consultant - Interventional Cardiology, Manipal Hopsital, Bhubaneshwar)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.