PROTECTIVE CARE There is much you can do to
guard the health of your heart and circulatory system. Contrary to what many
people believe, the heart is a tough rather than delicate organ. Surgeons have
successfully closed stab and other wounds of the heart; they have repaired the
valves within the heart and corrected malformations. Protected by the tough
ribs, the over- lying lungs, and its own surrounding membrane, the heart is
rarely dam- aged by a blow. This fact should be reassuring to parents of
football players, boxers, and other athletes. Guarding the health of the heart
does not mean trying unduly to spare it.
Heart that a practice now accepted as a
safeguard-a gradual return, after an actual heart attack, to active, even
strenuous exercise-would, only a decade ago, have been considered medical
malpractice if a doctor had prescribed it. Today, many cardiologists advise
patients after heart attacks to get moving-to begin slowly, with extreme
caution, gradually increasing their activity. With a gradual, well-tailored,
well-supervised program, there is little or no danger of overstraining the
heart. Many ex-heart cripples now are even playing strenuous games such as
handball. It is now realized that such slow, gradual, progressive physical
training can help the heart develop an increased network of blood-supplying
vessels, sometimes a greater network than it may have had before the heart
attack, and there is increasing evidence that such training may substantially
reduce the risk of another attack. However, there are limits to the amount of
strain that should be placed on a middle-aged, old, or damaged heart, particularly
sudden strain. If you have been leading a sedentary existence, and now, wisely,
you decide you need to increase your physical activity and overall physical
fitness, you should by all means check with your physician first and, with his
guidance, based on the health of your heart and whole circulatory system, map
out a program which will lead gradually to your goal.
