Today, doctors aim to keep people with angina as active as their condition allows. You will be asked to walk on a treadmill, a moving, endless surface that can be set at different speeds, either flat or on an upward slope, to assess how much you can do, initially, before the heart begins to complain.
While on the treadmill, your heart is monitored by EKG, to pick up changes before the pain starts, and, especially if you have diabetes, to pick up any periods of silent ischemia. You will then be given a program of exercise to start that will allow you to exercise up to the correct limit, and not beyond. Don’t let that scare you. When you add regular exercise to all the other actions you have been taking, such as eating more healthily, stopping smoking, and lowering your blood pressure, you will be improving your heart’s supply-demand equation all the time. Even people with severe heart failure have been helped by exercise. You will be amazed how quickly you will be able to step up your exercise, and how much better you will feel.
Primary care doctors also know that “soft” risk factors can affect the cardiovascular health of their patients. For example, social isolation can affect your health negatively. For that reason, many communities and health plans offer angina support groups or cardiovascular rehabilitation groups. Consider joining and making friends while you get support for other lifestyle changes.
It is also a good idea to discuss your sex life with your primary care provider. You may be limiting it consciously or unconsciously more than is necessary and this can weaken your relationship with your partner. Your partner may be hesitant to complain for fear of making your heart condition worse. Sex with a new partner is considered more taxing on the heart, but an exercise stress test may demonstrate to you that exertion during sex is safe enough for you to form new relationships.
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