Sometimes heart disease strikes people who are health-conscious, extremely active, non-smokers, and in the ideal weight range.
On this page: Understand your risk factors · Signs and symptoms · Fit people may be more aware · Have regular check-ups · Regaining your fitness · Activity levels
Understand your risk factors
Many factors play an important role in heart disease, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Some factors cannot be changed:
- gender: men are more prone to heart disease
- increasing age in both men and women
- family history.
Other factors can be modified:
- smoking
- being overweight
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
-
diabetes.
An active, health-conscious person could be unaware that they have high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
Heart attacks cannot always be explained by the ‘traditional' factors. Many researchers are interested in other ‘novel' conditions. These include factors that may increase risk of clotting or inflammation within arteries.
Signs and symptoms
The signs and symptoms are the same whether you are active or inactive:
- tightness or heaviness in the centre of your chest
- shortness of breath
- discomfort that may radiate into the neck, jaw or left arm.
The symptoms can vary from one person to another, but the sensation is generally a heaviness rather than a severe pain.
The medical term for these symptoms is angina. This usually occurs when one or more of the coronary arteries has narrowed (but not totally blocked). Angina could be a precursor to a heart attack if the symptoms are ignored.
Fit people may be more aware
It is possible that if you exercise regularly you might be more aware of sudden changes in your exercise tolerance.
In contrast, an inactive person not placing too many demands on the heart may take longer to present with symptoms. In older people, those with diabetes and sometimes women, the symptoms may not be so clear-cut, and may be more related to shortness of breath on exertion.
One of the important benefits of regular exercise is that the body responds by developing its own ‘natural bypasses'. Blood flow is increased, causing some of the finer blood vessels to convert into collaterals. This can reduce the occurrence of angina or heart attack.
Have regular check-ups
A healthy lifestyle certainly helps to prevent heart attacks, but it is also important to discuss your risk factors with your doctor, make sure you get regular checks for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. And don't ignore warning symptoms.
Regaining your fitness
Physical activity benefits people of all ages, but everyone is an individual with specific needs and goals. Remember that a recovery phase of about four weeks is vital for optimum healing. This means about four weeks of light-intensity activity (see below).
After that it depends on your age, medical condition and previous levels of fitness. You should consult with your cardiologist and cardiac rehabilitation team.
Activity levels
It is important to understand the different levels of activity you can do:
- Light/low intensity: causes a slight increase in breathing rate (e.g. strolling at less than 3 km/hour).
- Moderate intensity: causes slight but noticeable increase in breathing and heart rate, but allows comfortable talking (e.g. a brisk walk at 3–6 km/hour, or cycling at less than 16 km/hour).
- Vigorous intensity: causes hard breathing and a substantial increase in heart rate.
Reference: Briffa, Tom G. et al. ‘Physical activity for people with cardiovascular disease.' In Medical Journal of Australia 1 No 2: 16 January 2006.
