Cardiac Exercise and Cardiac/Respiratory Health

Heart health is positively correlated with exercise and, according to the research, physical activity can be a good way to diagnosis, detect or treat emerging heart conditions in individuals. Connections are also made in general research between exercise and both aerobic and anaerobic gains for individuals. Indeed, as the discussion hereafter will show, exercise is among the most consistently effective and proven methods of preventing heart disease and such causal conditions as obesity or hypertension. Research points to a host of indicators that suggest exercise should in some form be a regular part of every individuals lifestyle. Chief among these indicators is the evidence demonstrating that exercise and physical activity are directly related to cardiovascular and respiratory health.

We find that there are a wide array of methods to diminishing the risk of heart disease, which can be associated with a sedentary lifestyle, a poor diet or hereditary factors. Among the factors which may help improve one's preventative odds, an engagement in some form of regular, routinized and safe physical activity will be substantial. It is further recommended that the form taken by the physical fitness activities should be enjoyable and accessible to the practicing individual. Certainly, such exercise can take on myriad forms. Accordingly, "physical activity in daily life can be categorized into occupational, sports, conditioning, household,...

Exercise is a subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive and has as a final or an intermediate objective the improvement or maintenance of physical fitness." (Caspersen et al., 126)
One of the primary reasons to engage in regular exercise or physical activity is because of the manner in which this relates to the cardiac cycle. The cardiac cycle is the event which occurs to the stimulation of each individual heartbeat and which moves blood from the atria to the ventricles and subsequently into the pulmonary artery and aorta. (Brannagan, p. 1) The blood cells that the heart moves throughout the body are needed to distribute oxygen. When the body is in a state of exercise motion, it requires a greater supply of oxygen to all of its extremities. It is thus that the heart-rate speeds up to maintain this flow of oxygen according to the body's immediate needs. As Brannagan (2010) explains, "blood that enters circulation takes needed oxygen to all of the body's tissues to help them continue to function. After the cells and tissues use up the needed oxygen, the blood returns to the heart to repeat the cycle." (Brannagan, p. 1)

The faster that the body is moving, the greater is oxygen needs become. Therefore, the faster the cardiac cycle repeats itself. This is felt in the heightened speed of the heartbeat and, typically, is implicated by the heavy breathing that will accompany strenuous exercise. The individual is often gasping for air…