Physical Activity and Your Heart
Regular physical activity is important to maintain a healthy heart. According to the British Heart Foundation, being active can reduce your risk of developing some heart and circulatory diseases by as much as 35%.
The heart is a muscle, and like any other muscle it needs physical activity or exercise to help it work properly. When you're active, your lungs do a better job of getting oxygen into your blood so it can be pumped to all the tissues and cells of your body.
Watch the video below to find out more about what happens to your body when you exercise.
Check Your Heart Age
The NHS, Public Health England, UCE, and the British Heart Foundation have collaborated to produce an online tool to give you an idea of what your heart age is compared to your real age.
The tool can help you find out:
- the number of extra years you can give your heart age by making some healthy lifestyle changes
- the importance of blood pressure and cholesterol levels in estimating your heart age
- how to improve your heart age by eating better and moving more
This test is suitable for anyone aged 30 to 95. It is not suitable for anyone with a condition that affects their heart or blood vessels (a cardiovascular disease).
Support from the British Heart Foundation
the British Heart Foundation work to try and create a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases.
Their Heart Matters Magazine, offers a range of articles, videos, and resources to support you to become more active, whether you're living with a heart condition, recovering from a heart event, or are just trying to do more exercise for a healthy heart.
They have also created the following two resources below.
Keep Your Heart Healthy (PDF, 334 Kb)
Physical Activity and Heart and Circulatory Diseases (PDF, 306 Kb)A resource from the British Heart Foundation aimed at individuals at risk of heart and circulatory diseases. Information includes how activity can reduce risk and how much activity is recommended.
