Exercise guidance if you have PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

although relatively rare pulmonary hypertension affects 1% of the global population which is still 81 million people so in this video I'll provide some exercise advice for this specific [Music] population hi everyone I'm welcome to exercise for health and pulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the arteries that Supply blood to the lungs it is a serious condition that can damage the right side of the heart and can lead to heart failure it's normally caused by other conditions generally of the heart or lungs and it can lead to a number of symptoms including shortness of breath tiredness feeling faint or dizzy chest pain palpitations or a fast heartbeat and swelling or odema in the legs ankles or feet these symptoms however can vary in severity from person to person so at a tailored approach to any medical interventions lifestyle changes and exercise therapy is crucial exercise is advis for most although there may be some complications where exercise is contraindicated in a minority of people with pulmonary hypertension and being Physically Active can greatly improve one's quality of life and ability to carry out activities of daily living so let's look at the guidance cardio exercise is any type of movement or activity that is considered aerobic in nature where one will begin to feel breathless although it may feel counterintuitive to get breathless with this condition like with many respiratory conditions exercise into a level where the heart rate will increase and you will feel around a three or four on the 0 to 10 rate of perceived exertion or breathlessness scale will be really beneficial to your health this may be for a duration of 30 to 40 minutes per second depending on your current level of Fitness the impact of your condition on your health and where you're starting from it's important to do a very steady warm up to start with that's lighter in intensity and should take at least 10 minutes before increasing the intensity for a further 10 to 20 minutes the remaining 10 minutes should be cooling down gradually reducing the intensity allowing your breathing rate to come back to normal it's worth noting that if at any point you feel as though your breathing is out of your control you either reduce the intensity or even stop if necessary to get your breathing back under control again the purpose of any cardio exercise is to be able to sustain it for the time period where the intensity is manageable even though it will be varied slightly from the start to the Finish examples of cardio activities can be walking cycling swimming or even homebased exercises like those in some of my workout videos on this channel with this Condition it's a good idea to mon monitor your blood oxygen saturation levels during exercise to ensure it stays above 90% so definitely worth investing in a pulse oxy meter that can measure your oxygen levels and your heart rate or pulse so I'll leave a link to one in the description below you should aim to do cardio exercise on two or three days a week if your condition allows a strength exercise is moving your body or a limb against a resistance or load which can be using your body weight with gravity or using other equipments such as dumbbells or resistance bands before attempting any strength exercises you should have conducted a type of warmup which can be some like cardio activities and some joint mobilizations as this will help prepare your muscles to work against the load and reduce the likelihood of a blood pressure spike you can pick a few exercises to do that work a variety of muscles in the body and it's good to do exercises that are functional that will in turn help you with day-to-day activities but depending on your Fitness level you may need to adapt some exercises to reduce the intensity so a couple of examples could be performing a seated single leg press with a band if you can't manage sit to stands or performing a seated arm press with a band if you can't manage standing push-ups against the wall whatever exercises you choose you should aim to be able to manage 10 repetitions in in a slow controlled manner that doesn't push your breathlessness up too high it can sometimes be a good idea to intersperse strength exercises in between cardio ones because some low-level strength exercises can be used as an active recovery to the moderate intensity cardio exercises and I use this method in many of my homebased programs when strength training it's important to ensure that you don't lift too heavy as there is a chance that it can put increased stress on the right side of the heart but also that you don't hold your breath as this can raise pressure in the chest cavity you should aim to do strength exercises on two days of the week if your condition allows stretching exercises are the third and final component of any exercise program for pulmonary hypertension stretching can take the form of Mobility exercises taking the joint through its full range of movement which can be more Dynamic and suitable during a warmup or gentle relaxed muscle stretch in which is best done after any cardio or strength-based exercises any relaxed stretching that can help you with your posture which will in turn help you with your breathing is obviously a bonus so some sometimes should be spent at stretching the muscles of the chest and shoulders but any stretches that help maintain a balance of flexibility will be worthwhile and will make you feel better if it's at the end of your workout routine each stretch you perform should be held for for 20 to 30 seconds while you breathe in a slow deep controlled manner stretches can be performed every day at the end of a workout or whenever you feel a bit tight or just need to relax don't stretch into pain but hold it just as far as it begins to feel uncomfortable and I have a playlist of stretching videos which I'll leave a link to in the description below if you need some ideas in all pulmonary hypertension cases the individual should have had some form of consultation with a doctor or respiratory specialist to get individual advice on what course of action is best for them before undertaking any type of exercise activity alone in most cases working with a pulmonary rehab team under supervision will be the best way forward to ensure they understand what level of exercise is right for them I hope the information provided in this video will help you manage your condition and if you found it useful please give it a like by clicking the Thumbs Up Button below and consider subscribing if you haven't already you can also check out the description for ways that you can help support this channel but thank you so much for watching and until next time stay active and keep moving to feel better