How Does Coronary Artery Disease Affect Exercise?

Coronary artery disease is a highly prevalent form of heart disease that causes chest pain with exertion – especially during exercise. Read on to learn how CAD affects exercise and how to utilize physical activity to strengthen your heart.

Exercise is essential for health and wellness, but when heart disease hits, it's hard. Coronary artery disease is the most common form of heart disease that makes it difficult to workout without chest pain and other issues.

However, exercise is essential when living with heart problems, especially CAD. If you don't know where to start, the Heart Clinic of Hammond team can help.

Dr. Ghiath Mikdadi and Dr. Farid Zayed are experienced cardiologists providing exercise stress testing and coronary interventions for patients with heart disease.

Understanding coronary artery disease

Plaque obstructing the coronary arteries causes coronary artery disease (CAD), which supplies blood to the heart muscle. Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of CAD, causing fatty substances to build up on the arterial walls.

Atherosclerosis reduces blood flow to the heart muscle, causing chest pain or heart attack. The plaque builds over time, reducing blood flow to the heart and causing a pain known as angina.

Many people are at risk for CAD, including those with a family history, high LDL cholesterol, and those who smoke. Physical inactivity and obesity are also prevalent risk factors for heart disease and CAD.

Unfortunately, most people are unaware they have CAD until they experience a heart attack. Knowing your family history and eating a healthy diet are two ways to avoid CAD.

Coronary artery disease and exercise

Exercise is essential for staying healthy, but it's difficult with CAD. The narrow coronary arteries prevent adequate oxygenated blood from reaching the heart.

When exercising, the heart demands more oxygenated blood to pump to the other body tissues, increasing your heart rate. However, the narrowed arteries prevent oxygenated blood from reaching the heart during exercise, causing pain and other symptoms.

CAD affects exercise by limiting how much and long you can endure physical activity. Exercise intolerance is an unfortunate aspect of CAD that often leads to shortness of breath and angina with too much physical activity.

People with CAD are also at an increased risk for heart issues during exercise because of decreased oxygen and blood flow to the heart. The risk of a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest is high with exercise and unstable CAD.

How to exercise safely with CAD

You can still exercise with CAD, but you should be more careful. We help you understand heart disease and give tips on exercising safely to avoid heart problems and stay healthy.

It's essential to take the proper precautions when exercising. Cut back on the time you exercise and scale down the intensity of each workout. Give your heart time to recuperate by adding more rest periods.

You may also want to meet with a professional trainer for tips and tricks on exercising best with CAD. We also perform an exercise stress test to see how your heart responds to stress during exercise.

You can improve heart health through exercise with proper care and vigilance, even with CAD. However, take the correct steps and pay close attention to your heart first and foremost to avoid dangerous complications.

Don't hesitate to call the Heart Clinic of Hammond team today in Hammond or Amite, Louisiana, to discuss an exercise stress test or request an appointment on our website.