Many of you may remember the tune that accompanied us throughout our childhood, as the TV tournament encouraged everyone to exercise. Although the importance of sport was preached decades ago, it was not accepted by many. Yet, in addition to making us feel better, it has scientifically proven health benefits, including on the cardiovascular system, even in the presence of established disease.
Healthy young people or older people (up to the age of 40 or so, assuming that serious illness has already been diagnosed by school, work or GP examinations) can take up the sport, provided they follow certain rules.
Gymnastics for people with heart disease with Gabriella Faragó, physiotherapist.

Date. Every week on Tuesday and Friday
To register, call 0630/209-0743.

The benefits of regular exercise are many and varied, the most important of which is not exhaustive:
-it can lower blood pressure, so in cases of near borderline (upper limit of normal blood pressure: 140/90 mm Hg) or mild hypertension, it can postpone the need for medication for years.

• It helps to maintain an ideal body weight and it is difficult to lose excess weight without exercise.
• has a positive effect on metabolism (fat, sugar):
• increases levels of the so-called “good cholesterol” (HDL)
• triglyceride levels fall
• improved glucose tolerance (working muscles use sugar, so blood sugar levels fall)
• mood-boosting, an important non-medicinal tool for reducing depression and anxiety.
  Heart disease and exercise
  It is also possible to exercise in the presence of cardiovascular abnormalities or disease, but of course this requires a clear outline of the “what?, how much?” questions.
  If a person is free of symptoms but has one or more of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease (high blood pressure, elevated blood lipids, elevated blood sugar, etc.), a cardiological examination (ECG, exercise ECG, cardiac ultrasound) is necessary to confirm or exclude the presence of vascular disease, and the results of the examination will be used to determine what further action is necessary and to give information on the level of exercise that is permissible.
• If a person has a known coronary heart disease (e.g. a previous heart attack) but is stable, i.e. has no angina, no heart failure symptoms, takes his/her medication regularly and attends the required check-ups, he/she can exercise within the limits set by the exercise stress test (your cardiologist can give you detailed information on this). The body’s signalling system is quite good, as fatigue, running out of breath, or the onset of chest pain will signal “stop!” in good time.
• If a cardiovascular patient has varying degrees of complaints and symptoms, obviously less, but some exercise is possible for almost all patients. How much is recommended by the cardiologist on the basis of echocardiography (left ventricular performance can be measured), ECG monitoring, Holter testing (to detect dangerous arrhythmias) and exercise testing.
• If the cardiac patient has a history of dangerous arrhythmia, if the left ventricular function is poor (left ventricular performance (EF) less than 40% on echocardiography), he or she may be advised to undergo individually tailored exercise, supervised exercise by a physiotherapist or a doctor.
• Conditioning exercise is not allowed in acute febrile conditions, in heart failure, in times of frequent angina, arrhythmias, or in cases of heart defects (e.g. severe aortic valve stenosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) for which the doctor has specifically advised this.