Heavy Exercise Is Okay Only If You Are Regular. Not Good For Heart Otherwise, Experts Say

People should avoid vigorous exercise, unless they are regular, experts say. The risk of heart attacks is higher in people who are mostly sedentary and occasionally engage in heavy exercise. 

People should perform at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily, five times a week, to prevent heart disease, according to experts.

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Cases of heart attack and cardiac arrest while exercising in the gym have increased over the last few years. While physical activity is important to prevent heart diseases, one should mind the duration of exercise per week, else there will be a negative impact on their heart health. 

Also, people should avoid vigorous exercise, unless they are regular, experts say. Moreover, the risk of heart attacks and cardiac arrests is higher in people who are mostly sedentary and occasionally engage in heavy exercise. 

How much exercise is needed each day/each week to prevent heart diseases?

People should perform at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily, five times a week, to prevent heart disease, Dr Mohit Bhutani, Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiology, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, told ABP Live. This is equivalent to 150 minutes of exercise per week.

"Moderate exercise may include brisk walking at a pace of around three to four miles per hour, cycling, jogging, or swimming, among others," Dr Bhutani said.

How does heavy exercise increase the risk of heart problems?

Heavy exercise can lead to heart attacks or cardiac arrests, especially in people who do not exercise regularly. "A few studies have shown that more than 450 minutes of exercise per week increases the risk of calcium buildup in the heart's arteries," Dr Bhutani said. 

"There are recent cases of celebrities and youngsters unexpectedly collapsing during exercise due to heart attacks. The reason is the gradual buildup of calcified plaque in the arteries. This can grow and lead to narrowing of coronary arteries and increased risk of heart attack, as vigorous physical exercise puts a lot of strain on the heart," Dr Tausif Ahmed Thangalvadi, Medical Director at NURA, a collaboration between Fujifilm Healthcare and Dr Kutty's Healthcare offering AI-enabled imaging in Bengaluru and Gurugram, told ABP Live. 

"Plaque in arteries is much more common in men than women, and its incidence increases as you advance in age. Before hitting the gym, everyone should get themselves a coronary calcium scan to measure calcium-containing plaque in arteries. Go slow on exercise if you have a buildup of plaque and immediately consult a cardiologist," he added. 

Why cases of heart attacks while exercising in the gym or dancing are increasing

There is only a transient increase in risk of heart attacks or heart rhythm disorders during exercise, Dr Bhutani said. "There is usually a very low risk of heart disease for those who exercise regularly, but the risk is slightly higher in people who are mostly sedentary and occasionally engage in heavy exercise. The reason can be an underlying coronary artery disease, which can cause a supply-demand mismatch and lead to heart attacks. There are some disorders like channelopathies in which exercise-induced abnormal heart rhythm and very fast heart rate called ventricular tachycardia can occur, leading to sudden cardiac death," Dr Bhutani added. 

Channelopathies are diseases that develop due to defects in ion channels caused by either genetic or acquired factors such as mutations in genes encoding ion channels, which impair channel function, according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Channelopathies can affect the heart as well as the nervous system. The diseases might lead to muscle paralysis or muscle stiffness in the nervous system, and an abnormal heart rhythm and very fast heart rate.

How can one check if their hearts have plaque? 

One can detect the plaque in their heart when the buildup has just begun through preventive screening tests such as heart calcium scan. People must also take preventive measures by improving their lifestyle to prevent heart disease. 

"The heart calcium score is recommended for screening cardiac arrest in asymptomatic people. A low-dose CT scan is used to take cross-sections of the heart's blood vessels to look for the buildup of calcified plaques made of fats, cholesterol, calcium and other substances in the blood.

The heart calcium score helps us identify a person at risk of a heart attack even before signs and symptoms develop," Dr Ahmed Thangalvadi said. 

According to the World Health Organization Global Health estimates, nearly 11 per cent of the Indian population is suffering from coronary artery disease, which means that one out of every 10 Indians suffers from heart disease.

How the right amount of exercise helps prevent heart diseases

Exercise is beneficial because it increases the basal metabolic rate and exercise tolerance, Dr Bhutani said. The exercise capacity of an individual measured by their ability to endure exercise is known as exercise tolerance. 

"Regular exercise is associated with reduction in body weight, blood pressure, bad cholesterol, and insulin resistance. These are a few of the causes and the ways it can combat heart disease," Dr Bhutani added. 

Why the risk of heart disease increases if one's body mass index (BMI) is above 24.9

A person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres is known as the body mass index (BMI). "Higher BMI (>24.9) is considered as overweight or obese, and this leads to insulin resistance causing metabolic syndrome with dyslipidemia (an increase in bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol). It can also lead to hypertension and abnormal blood sugar levels, both of which are major risk factors for coronary artery disease. In addition to BMI, Waist circumference and the waist-to-hip ratio are two markers that should be looked at," Dr Bhutani said.