JOGGING AND HEART HEALTH

I am an overweight (30 pounds) 57 year old woman with asthma/copd and I want to start jogging again. Until a few years ago I was slim and exercised regularly but after catching a series of colds I had to go through pulmonary rehab as well as a year of oxygen therapy. I want to rebuild my health and lose weight. I love to jog and lifts weights. Prior to getting sick I used to jog 7 miles a day and it had improved my health to the point that I forgot I had asthma.  I went to my doctor to get a physical so I could feel confident to start jogging again. Because my mother had a mild heart attack in her 50s he sent me to a cardiologist as part of my physical exam. I had all the normal tests (treadmill, echocardiogram, etc). At the time the cardiologist told me everything looked normal but at my follow-up visit he had another ultrasound of my heart done. After that he said he thought he saw a small leak in a heart valve but it was nothing to worry about.... of course I am worried -- can a leak get bigger? How would I know? I told my cardiologist I was doing all this so I could start jogging and he said that would be fine. Am I being worried over nothing?

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

I would suggest you to go for an Echocardiography to rule out any cardiac problems. I would suggest you to check if the leak is in which valve? Like aortic, mitral or tricuspid etc. If the valves do not seal, some blood will leak backwards across the valve. As the leak worsens, the heart has to work harder so you for this I would suggest you to go for mild cardio and not to go for heavy physical exertion. If heart valve disorders are not diagnosed and treated, blood pressure may increase. Fluid may leak out of blood vessels and accumulate in the lungs.

Go for long walks and slow jogging and eat healthy. Try to maintain your weight over a period of time and go about it in a slow progressive way. Always get your blood pressure monitored and with any symptoms of increased heart rate or breathlessness follow up with a cardiologist.

Take care!