Overview
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. In the United States, heart disease causes 40 percent of all deaths, many of which are preventable by combining a healthy diet with increased cardiovascular fitness.
Coronary Artery Disease
The most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease, or CAD. With CAD, a substance known as plaque clogs the blood vessels that supply the heart with fresh blood. Plaque is composed primarily of fat and cholesterol, which underscores the importance of eating a healthy diet. The degree to which the vessels are blocked determines the severity of CAD symptoms you experience. Partial blockage can cause mild to moderate chest pain during physical exertion, a condition called angina. If a vessel becomes completely blocked, the heart tissue is no longer able to receive oxygenated blood and a heart attack occurs.
Preventing Heart Disease
While uncontrollable factors such as genetics do play a part in whether you develop CAD, according to the National Institutes of Health, most cases of CAD are preventable, and increasing your cardiovascular fitness plays a large part in any CAD treatment plan. Your fitness program does not need to be extreme, but you do need to follow it consistently. The American Heart Association, or AHA, offers the FIT acronym—frequency, intensity, and time—as a guideline to help you determine whether your cardiovascular fitness program is sufficient to treat or prevent heart disease.
Frequency
The AHA recommends engaging in physical activity nearly every day of the week. This may seem difficult to accomplish, but even activities as mundane as taking the stairs and doing yard work qualify as physical activities that will improve your cardiovascular fitness. Traditional forms of exercise such as running and cycling qualify as well. Regardless of the activities you choose, the AHA emphasizes the importance of making regular physical activity a part of your daily routine.
Intensity
The intensity of your workouts should be at least 50 percent of your maximum exercise capacity. For most people, this equates to being slightly to moderately out of breath and beginning to break a sweat. Higher intensities give greater benefits, but the AHA stresses that you should start slowly and let your body adjust to the demands of physical activity.
Time
The AHA recommends that you complete 30 minutes of physical activity each day that you work out, but you do not need to complete all 30 minutes at once. Periods of 10 to 15 minutes of exercise are sufficient as long as the daily total reaches 30 minutes.
About this Author
Southern California-based author Ryan Tubbs has been writing professionally since March 2010. His prior professional experience includes stints as a social worker, educator, and emergency medical technician. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies from UC Riverside in 2004.
