8/10/2021PT Can Help Keep a Healthy Heart

Heart disease and heart failure are systemic cardiovascular diseases. They can affect exercise tolerance, endurance, and quality of life. Heart diseases make it difficult for a person’s heart to keep up with their body’s daily demands.

If you have heart disease or heart failure, our physical therapists can work with you to help keep it from getting worse. Physical therapists also can help people reduce their risk for developing heart disease. Working with a physical therapist can improve your:

• Exercise capacity.
• Strength and endurance.
• Overall health and well-being.

What Are Heart Disease and Heart Failure?

Heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease, is any disease that involves the blood vessels in the heart, limbs, or brain. The term covers:

• High blood pressure.
• Heart attack.
• Heart failure.
• Heart valve problems.
• Peripheral artery disease.
• Stroke.

The primary risk factors for developing heart disease include:

• High blood pressure (hypertension).
• Disease of the coronary arteries (atherosclerosis).
• A history of prior heart attack (myocardial infarction).
• A family history of heart disease.
• Cigarette smoking.
• Physical inactivity.
• Increased body mass index/overweight.
• High cholesterol.
• Diabetes (increased blood sugar levels).
• Age over 45 for men; over 55 for women.

Heart failure is a syndrome that occurs when the heart fails to meet the needs of the body. This means the heart is not functioning as it should. It occurs when the heart is unable to fill with, or pump, blood effectively. As a result, the body does not get the blood and oxygen it needs.

Primary risk factors for developing heart failure include:

• Coronary artery disease due to a buildup of plaque in the arteries of the heart.
• Heart defects inherited or present at birth.
• High blood pressure.
• Smoking.
• Heart valve disease.
• Infection of the heart.
• Obesity increased body mass index.
• Diabetes.
• Certain types of chemotherapy.
• Alcohol and/or drug abuse.

How Can a Physical Therapist Help?

Physical therapists design personalized treatment plans for each person’s needs, challenges, and goals. They help you:

• Improve your mobility.
• Manage pain and other chronic conditions.
• Recover from or prevent injury and chronic disease.

Your physical therapy treatment plan will include a personalized exercise program and prescribed movement. This program will help you decrease the signs and symptoms of heart disease and/or failure. It also will improve your ability to take part in home, work, and other activities. Research shows that physical activity and exercise can improve exercise capacity. Physical activity and exercise also can help people with heart failure live longer than they would otherwise.

*Sourced from ChoosePT.com.  Read entire article HERE.