Quickly Lower Blood Pressure and Know the Signs of High Blood Pressure

Apart from regular aerobic exercises, heart patients can now even go for a light to moderate weight training. American Heart Association has even approved weight training for patients with a variety of heart diseases and ailments. Some of the benefits of weight training include improving muscle strength, reducing resting blood pressure, developing bone density, decreasing fat levels inside the body, reducing stress and even reducing insulin resistance.

Weight training should not be vigorous for heart patients. One can start with light weights of 1-2 pounds each. Weight training will be more useful with more number of repetitions using less weight than less number of repetitions using heavy weights. One should start with 8-12 repetitions per set and can gradually increase. Lifting weights has to be done in a rhythmic manner at moderate to slow speed. Inhalation and exhalation of breath should be properly controlled.

It is important not to hold breath. One should exhale during contraction phase and inhale during relaxation phase. Weight training for 2 days a week would be sufficient for a heart patient. Some important weight training exercises include chest press, shoulder press, triceps extension, biceps, curl, pull-down, lower back extension, abdominal crunch, leg press, leg curl and calf raise. However, all the exercises should be performed under the supervision of a properly trained and certified physical trainer.

Even though weight training offers valuable benefits for the health of heart patients, it is not recommended for people with certain heart ailments. As per instructions of the American Heart Association, weight training is not recommended for patients suffering from unstable coronary heart diseases like angina. Even patients suffering from ailments like congestive heart failure, Marfan syndrome and aortic dissection should not try weight training. Weight training is also dangerous for patients with severe pulmonary hypertension, severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, acute infection of the heart or in the tissues surrounding heart, and patients with uncontrolled high blood pressure.