Exercise can strengthen your heart, helping it pump blood around your body more efficiently. This can help you stay healthier longer and both manage and lower the risk of heart disease.

Your heart is no different from any other muscle in your body. With regular exercise, your heart gets more efficient at pumping blood around your body.

This helps protect your heart health over time and may lower your risk of heart disease, a term that encompasses several conditions affecting the heart’s muscle, arteries, and functions.

If you already have heart disease, exercise may also help you manage it and slow its progression.

Regular exercise has many long-term benefits for your heart health, and it can also reduce your risk of developing many health conditions that may contribute to heart disease.

May lower blood pressure

Hypertension (high blood pressure) can increase your risk of developing heart disease. High blood pressure has multiple possible causes, but certain factors, including lower physical activity levels and family history, may increase your risk.

Though exercising causes a temporary increase in blood pressure, frequent exercise can promote a lower blood pressure when you’re at rest. This reduces the stress on your heart throughout your lifetime, helping to keep your heart healthier longer.

May lower cholesterol levels

High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), a type of cholesterol, can contribute to high blood cholesterol levels. This can lead to the buildup of plaque (fatty deposits) in your blood vessels, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease.

Research, including some studies cited in a 2020 research review, suggests that exercise can help reduce levels of LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol. The review authors note that endurance exercise appears to be particularly effective.

Can help with weight management

A higher body weight can put stress on your heart and increase your risk of developing heart disease, and regular exercise may help you manage your weight.

A 2021 study in people with obesity found that weight loss reduced the risk of heart disease. And if you already have heart disease, weight management may help manage it and reduce your risk of complications.

Most types of heart disease aren’t reversible. However, regular exercise can still help manage heart disease and, in some cases, slow its progression.

Exercise directly improves the function of your heart muscle and may reduce artery and heart muscle stiffness that can accompany heart disease.

It may also help you maintain a moderate weight, reduce inflammation, and improve blood flow in your body, which can reduce excess stress on your heart.

Regardless of your condition or current ability level, getting moving can help improve your heart health. In people with a history of stroke or heart failure, it may even help reduce the risk of death.

Any movement that gets your heart rate up is a good place to start. It’s important that you enjoy whatever exercise you choose, as this encourages you to make it part of your lifestyle.

Generally, moderate to high intensity exercises are best for the health of your heart and lungs. These workouts are typically aerobic and require your body to use large muscles, such as those in your arms and legs. You’ll likely notice that your breathing and heart rate increase during an aerobic workout.

Depending on your fitness level, you may want to start with low intensity exercise and gradually build up to a higher intensity. Low intensity exercise can be as simple as gardening or taking a walk around the block.

Moderate and high intensity exercises can include:

  • hiking
  • jogging
  • cycling
  • aerobic dancing, such as ballroom dancing
  • tennis
  • basketball
  • soccer

Resistance training is a type of exercise that can improve the strength of all your muscles, not just your heart. A 2017 research review suggests that combining resistance training exercises with aerobic exercise is more effective at improving heart health than aerobic exercise alone.

Resistance training can include activities such as:

  • squats
  • swimming
  • Pilates
  • movements with resistance bands
  • pushups

Start slow

If regular physical activity isn’t currently a part of your routine, start slow and work your way up to more frequent or more intense workouts.

If you have heart disease or another chronic condition that may affect your ability to exercise, it’s best to talk with a healthcare professional before starting a new exercise routine. Primary care doctors, cardiologists, and cardiac rehabilitation specialists can all be beneficial additions to your care team.

Regular physical activity is a crucial component of lifelong wellness, and it may also help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Exercise can strengthen your heart muscle and help you maintain a moderate weight. Regular physical activity may also help you manage or lower your risk of conditions that can lead to heart disease, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

If you receive a diagnosis of heart disease, your doctor may suggest an exercise plan to help boost your heart health and slow the progression of your condition.

It’s never too late to start including regular exercise in your routine.