why do walks make me feel better?

Posted By  CCF CARDIO MD sc on February 20, 1998 at 10:26:23:

In Reply to: why do walks make me feel better? posted by frank schmidt on February 13, 1998 at 09:52:13:

: To anyone.
  Some mornings I feel a bit whoozy and my hands are cold and I can't
  seem to get into gear. I eat a bananna and go for a brisk 3 mile
  walk and when I return I feel like a new man. I'll bet it's
  because the walk stimulates good blood flow and my sleeping
  does the reverse. The walk does not cause any CHF/DCM symptoms.
  In fact, the longer I walk, and the more brisk the walk is, the better I
  feel when I return. Is this typical of stage #1 DCM? I bet it is.
  It's almost like I have to keep moving. Like the movie "Speed".
  Other mornnings, I don't feel as bad, and some mornings I feel
  pretty good. In every case, however, the walk rejuvenates me like
  some kind of miracle.
  I would appreciate an explanation. I have a previous post describing
  my condition (under Dialated Cardiomyopathy).
  Thank You
  Frank Schmidt

[CCF Cardio MD sc]

Dear Mr. Schmidt
There is no clear explanation as to why you feel so under the weather when you wake up in the morning. It may be multifactorial and I obviously do not have all the information regarding your current medical condition and treatment regimen to make a reasonable diagnosis, however I will venture to give a few possible reasons. When we sleep at night our vagal tone increases, this tends to slow the heart rate and possibly also the blood pressure. There are however episodes during sleep, termed REM ( rapid eye movement ) sleep periods when the converse is true. The issue you have to look into is if any medications you are on such as beta-blockers or ace inhibitors are slowing your heart rate and also lowering your blood pressure too much. I would also venture to ask you if you have any other undisclosed medical conditions such as sleep apnea or diabetes that may be giving rise to your symptoms, again there is no substitute for a through examination by your internist to make this determination.
The fact that walking makes you feel so good is just an indication of the excellent control you have of your cardiac condition and I encourage you to continue on this regularly.
I hope this may give you some pointers in dealing with your condition. If you have any further questions or would like to be seen by one of our cardiologists here at the Cleveland Clinic please feel free to call 1-800-CCF-CARE to set this up.
Questions answered in this forum are intended for general purposes only, specific diagnosis and treatment should be reserved for physicians directly involved in patient care.