Cardiovascular Fitness - A Powerful Predictor of Health and Longevity

If you're looking to lower your risk of heart disease as you age, there is great news ahead! Research indicates you can lower your risk by improving your cardiovascular fitness. Cardiovascular fitness is a powerful predictor of health and longevity, so powerful it can reduce the risks from having other risk factors. That is powerful stuff! 

Fitness Protects Heart Health

Researchers comparing people from one yearly medical exam to another found that when fitness level was improved, the risk of having a heart event or dying from a heart event was reduced. People whose fitness level was lower year-to-year had a greater risk for heart issues. The even better news is that this was seen even when people still had risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and being overweight. Researchers found that year-to-year changes in fitness were better at predicting future risk of developing risk factors like high blood pressure or diabetes. Even people who already had heart disease or heart failure but preserved their fitness level year-to-year had a better survival rate. 

You may not even need to wait until you improve your cardiovascular fitness to enjoy those protections. There may be a certain amount of instant "cardio-protection" from the first time you exercise. A recent review in the JAMA Cardiology found that after one session of exercise, changes in the cardiovascular system may be providing protection from a heart attack, or at least reduce the severity of a heart attack, for about three to 24 hours after. 

So just the act of exercising might provide protection for your heart. Doing it regularly means you will improve your fitness level which provides protection year-to-year. Let's look at how simple it can be to enjoy these benefits. 

Cardio Made Simple: How Hard, How Long, and How Often

What is cardiovascular exercise?
This is simply moving continuously for an extended period. It is any form of movement that uses as much of your body as you can in a way that allows you to move continuously, such as walking, dancing, swimming or biking. 

Don't I need to get my heart rate up?
The equations used to predict what your heart rate should be with exercise have a 12-beat error rate. That means your heart rate could need to be much higher or lower than the machine tells you. Plus, many medications impact heart rate. So, using heart rate really isn't the best tool for most people. 

How are heart rate zones?
Your age predicted maximum heart rate is generally 220 minus your age. Ex. 220-55 years of age=165 max heart rate

• Zone 0: <50% age predicted max
• Zone 1: 50-59% age predicted max
• Zone 2: 60-69% age predicted max
• Zone 3: 70-79% age predicted max
• Zone 4: 80-89% age predicted max
• Zone 5: 90+% age predicted max

What can I use instead of heart rate? 
Breathing level is a better tool for most people to tell if they are working hard enough or too hard. Your breathing level gives you information about how your whole cardiovascular system is doing with exercise, not just your heart. 

How do I know how hard to exercise?
Move at a level that increases your breathing to a moderate to comfortable challenge level. Moderate would be a level of exertion where it is difficult to hold a full conversation. If breathing feels uncomfortable, slow down until breathing is in the comfortable range. This will allow you to continue to move without having to stop to catch your breath. That continuous movement is what gives the benefit. 

If people monitor their heart rate zones, this would be zones 1 to 2 (50 to 70% age predicted maximum). Vigorous exertion is focused in zones 3 and 4 (70 to 85% age predicted maximum).

How long do I need to move for?
The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous, intense exercise per week to improve cardiovascular outcomes.  

How often should I do cardio? 
If you can only do shorter bouts of 10 minutes, do them more frequently, such as gradually increasing to three times a day on most days of the week. If you can do longer bouts of 30 minutes, do cardio three or more days a week. 

If you are looking to be heart healthy, doing cardiovascular exercise regularly is one of your most powerful ways to take care of your heart and your whole body as you age.