Being active with heart disease

It can also help you to recover from a heart attack or treatment such as heart surgery. 

Here's how to get started.

• Speak to a health professional to check any activity you have chosen to do is suitable. For example, swimming may not be right for everyone
• Pick an activity that uses your whole body such as walking, cycling or dancing and in general aim to do 150 minutes a week
• The activity should be at moderate intensity, meaning you'll feel comfortable to continue the activity but will feel that your breathing is deeper and faster but you can still speak
• Remember that it doesn’t all have to be done in one go! You can break the 150 mins down to 30 mins five times a week or even down to 15 x 10 minute sessions throughout the week. Keep track of your activity using an activity planner or with a fitness tracker app.

• Always start and finish the activity gradually so you warm up and cool down, giving your heart and lungs time to build up and then wind down from the activity
• Resistance exercise can also be performed twice a week. The weight you use shouldn't be too large and you should be able to do at least 10 reps – if you can't then the weight is too heavy for you
• Choose activities you enjoy and feel you will continue to want to do in the future
• Don't exercise if you have chest pain, palpitations or feel dizzy

You can download this page for future reference.