Scared of Heart failure

Hi there,  ima 30year old male, average weight and height, there is a heart disease condition in my family as my dad passed on with his 3rd heart attack at the age of 34. Im currently a smoker , smoke now less than 10 a day,, exercise once a week,.

I would like to know is there any quick fixes that I can put in place to help me with my heart.
I get worried when im on the treadmill jogging but the machine flashes with my heart beats per minute which is usually over 180bpm.

[Bob_D]

Hi magik,

I believe the standard advice is as follows:

1. Stop smoking.
2. The American Heart Association recommends that you exercise at a more moderate pace (50 - 85% of your maximum heart rate, or 95 - 162 beats per minute for a 30-year old
3. Exercise more frequently, Advice varies from three times per week to "get some exercise every day".
4. Get your blood pressure to 120/80 or less.
5. Get your total cholesterol to 200 or less and your LDL to 100 or less.]

[Bob_D]

6. If you drink, maintain a moderate alcohol intake - no more than two drinks per day.
7. Get a checkup that includes a chest exam and ECG.

Cheers,
Bob D

[maggiemag]

Agree with above.  The best thing you can do is stop smoking TOTALLY.  And I would suggest getting a trainer at a gym, with physician approval first of course, and have them design a workout that gradually increases.  You may be overdoing it on your day of exercise.  Your weight is normal which is also suggested to avoid heart disease, so you have one down and that is a good start!

[funkywoman]

STOP SMOKING! That raises Blood Pressure and Heart Rate and causes plaque in your arteries as well as cancer! It takes 5 minutes for the craving to go away, and that goes away in about 2 weeks. Quit while you're ahead.

Eat a low fat, low cholesterol, high fiber diet.

See your doctor for a baseline EKG and stress test.

I think you'll be okay if you quit your cigs, I know it's hard, but you don't want to die young either and that would be harder on your family.

Since dad had that kind of heart problem, perhaps he had a congenital defect. Ask your doctor about that too..

If you're jogging on the treadmill, 188 is not bad, but it depends on how quickly that comes down to normal. Take your pulse after a minute, then 3 minutes. It should be back to normal. The question is do you get dizzy while it's high? They should have a chart at the gym for target heart rate. I'm only 5'2 and weighed 110 and after bypass surgery my target rate was 150.  I was 54 at the time too.