With too few exceptions, HD carriers choose a life style that does not include aerobic fitness. They are like most adults in the western world in avoiding physical activity. HD carriers have a critical need for aerobic fitness, a low saturated fat diet with omega 3s, and a zest for life.

If you take the time to learn the benefits of aerobic fitness to fight HD, you will have relevant knowledge. Applying this knowledge is the power to proactively fight HD and transform your life.

Chronic inactivity accelerates the progression of HD and may cause special concerns about HD and exercise. Sedentary HD carriers are more prone to diabetes and heart problems than the general population. Here are some things, from Dr. Cooper, for you and your doctor to consider. --Jerry

Posted to HDLighthouse: 23-Sep-2002 13:58 GMT HDL Update: Aerobics For HD Part II

"The purpose of these tests is to spot any heart condition might cause trouble during exercise.", Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H. President and Founder, The Cooper Aerobics Center

PRE-EXERCISE CHECKUP

Aerobic fitness will be a lifetime health advantage for some children.

Because no standards have yet been set for this pre-exercise checkup, many doctors have asked for recommended procedures. In response to these inquiries, I collaborated with several of my colleagues and wtih the AMA Committee on Physical Fitness and Exercise to define the kind of examination recommended for this purpose. The full medical details are to be published in a scientific article entitled "Guidelines in the Management of the Exercising Patient." The main objective of this examination is to spot heart, lung, and blood vessel problems that could make exercise potentially dangerous. This is especially important for older persons who are more likely to be affected by such problems

Under 30:

You can start exercising if you’ve had a checkup within the past year and the doctor found nothing wrong with you.

Between 30 and 39:

Between 40 and 59:

Over 59:

Your Doctor

The trouble is that not many doctors are equipped to ECGs during exercise. Ideally, they should have either a stationary bicycle or a treadmill in their office so that they can continuously monitor your ECG while you vigorously exercise. With growing popular interest in exercise, I hope that more doctors will install this kind of equipment After all, a good stationary bicycle with adjustable force costs less than $100.[1970] A treadmill is more expensive

If your doctor doesn’t have this kind of equipment, he can still take your ECG while you are under stress by giving you a variant of the so-called Masters two-step test. In this test you rapidly go up and down a single step until your pulse rate reaches the required level. The ECG and pulse should be monitored both during and after such exercise. Occasionally ECG changes produced by the exercise stress do not show up until two to five minutes after exercise has stopped. That's why the ECG should continue to be monitored during the recovery period.

The purpose of these tests is to spot any heart condition that might cause trouble during exercise. If coronary weakness or some other defect shows up, exercise must be scaled to levels of physical demand that your heart can meet safely. Your doctor may suggest that you do your exercising in a special medically supervised program until have made sufficient improvement to continue on your own. In fact, he may recommend that you confine yourself walking—no running, jogging or other more strenuous forms of exercise.

Don't feel discouraged about this. Done consistently and according to the aerobic charts, walking can gain, for you the same benefits as any of the more strenuous exercises. The only difference is that it takes a little longer. Even if do nothing but walk, you can eventually be as aerobically fit as anyone.

While walking can be recommended to almost anyone, more vigorous exercises, notably jogging and running, strictly prohibited for persons suffering from any of following conditions:

Relative Contraindications:

1. Moderate to severe coronary heart disease causing chest pain with minimal activity (angina pectorls).
2. Recent heart attacks. You must wait at least three months after a heart attack before starting on a regular exercise program. Even then your exercise program must be medically supervised.
3. Severe disease of the heart valves, primarily as a result of old rheumatic fever. Some patients of this type should not exercise at all—not even to the extent of fast walking.
4. Certain types of congenital heart disease, particularly those in which the surface of the body turns blue during exercise.
5. Greatly enlarged heart due to high blood pressure or other types of progressive heart disease.
6. Severe irregularities of the heartbeat requiring medication or frequent medical attention.
7. Uncontrolled sugar diabetes constantly fluctuating from too much to not enough blood sugar.
8. High blood pressure not controlled by medication; i.e., blood pressure exceeding 180/110 even with medication.
9. Excessive obesity. If you are more than 35 pounds overweight according to the standard weight charts, you must lose weight on a walking program before you can begin running or jogging.
10. Any infectious disease during its acute stage.

Another group of ailments do not prevent you from exercising altogether but make it necessary to proceed with caution and under medical supervision. In contrast to the above-named conditions, which are absolute contraindications the following are regarded, medically speaking, as relative contraindications:

1. Any infectious disease in its convalescent or chronic stage.
2. Sugar diabetes controlled by insulin.
3. A history of recent or active internal bleeding. (Some of these patients should not exercise at all.)
4. Kidney disease, either chronic or acute.
5. Anemia under treatment but not yet corrected (less than 10 grams of hemoglobin).
6. Acute or chronic lung disease resulting in breathing difficulty with even light exercise.
7. Elevated blood pressure which can be lowered only to 150/90 with medication.
8. Blood vesel disease of the legs that produces pain with walking.
9. Arthritis in the back, legs, feet or ankles, requiring frequent medication for relief of pain.
10. Convulsive disease not completely controlled with medication.

Let me stress once more that these relative contraindications do not rule out exercise. To the contrary, in some cases exercise helps reduce their symptoms. But medical judgment and supervision must be applied to each individual case.

Source:From 'The New Aeorobics' by K. H. Cooper' 1970

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