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You are in: Home > Heart Information > Living With Heart Conditions > Angina > Keeping Active

Keeping Active

• Physical activity and angina
• Pacing yourself
• Benefits of regular physical activity
• Choosing your activity
• Tips on exercising

Physical activity and angina

The heart is a muscle and it needs to be exercised to keep it strong. When you are sitting still it hardly has to work at all.

The less you do the less you become able to do.

The more unfit you become the more your angina can affect you and this can make you more anxious about activity bringing angina on.

Most people are advised to do some form of physical activity regularly, within the limitations of their angina. Physical activity includes jobs around the house and garden as well as more active exercise such as walking or swimming.

Your aim is to gradually increase what you can do, in small stages.

You should not try and work through pain and or breathlessness. You should never be so out of breath that you can't carry out a conversation.

You should stop if you feel pain / severe breathlessness and use your GTN spray / tablets if necessary.

If you are unsure about how much activity you can manage, or have unstable angina, it is advisable to speak to your doctor about what you can do.

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Pacing yourself

Any form of exertion can bring angina on e.g. climbing stairs, carrying shopping, walking up a slope or hurrying.

These are things that most people can't really avoid. You don't want to avoid doing every day things for fear of angina coming on. Keeping active, by doing your normal day to day activities, is an important step in taking control of your angina.

You may find you have to pace yourself in your daily activities so that you do not overdo it one day and then have to rest and feel unwell the next.

Breaking bigger jobs up into smaller tasks makes this easier. There is no reason why the whole lawn has to be cut in one day, or a room cleaned or decorated at once.

In the same way you can break up a walk into distances you know you can manage, even if it means using your GTN to do so.

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Benefits of regular physical activity

It is easy to become unfit if you stop being active. Anything requiring effort will be harder for the heart to cope with, and your angina may come on more quickly.

The downward spiral of inactivity can soon take hold and it a can be a long slow process to gradually build up again to be able to do what you want to be able to do.

Some hospitals run angina rehabilitation programmes of structured activity to help you build up your level of activity.

Other benefits include:

• The more you do the more you are able to do
• Strengthens your heart
• Can reduce frequency and severity of angina
• Reduces anxiety and depression
• Reduces tension, encourages relaxation and sleep
• Gives a sense of well being and confidence
• Helps to control cholesterol
• Helps you to lose weight
• Helps to lower high blood pressure
• Keeps you supple and more mobile
• Strengthens muscles, joints and bones

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Choosing your activity

• Choose an activity that keeps you moving and makes you breathe in more air e.g. swimming, walking, cycling or dancing
• Chose an activity near to home
• Avoid any exercise that involves staying in the same place and straining to lift or move something such as heavy weight lifting. This strains your heart and increases your blood pressure
• Vigorous competitive sports e.g. rugby, football and squash are not recommended
• Skiing is also not recommended due to the combination of high altitude, physical effort, cold air and emotional factors
• Swimming is normally a suitable exercise if you have stable angina. However you should not dive into freezing cold water and should enter the water within your depth. Heated pools are obviously preferable
• Do something you enjoy!

Remember to speak to your doctor if you are in any doubt about what you can do.

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Tips on exercising

• Try to do some form of activity every day as part of your normal routine
• Spend five to ten minutes warming up gently, ready to exercise
• Spend five to ten minutes cooling down after exercise
• Aim to gradually increase what you do in small stages
• Remember it is not a competition – you are in control
• Avoid rushing and holding your breath

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