When we talk about working out our muscles, we think of bulging biceps, ripped abs or a sculpted back. But as the old saying goes, it’s what’s on the inside that matters - and your heart is the most important muscle of all. The heart never gets a break, even while we sleep, so we need to train it for the physical and physiological stresses we endure in life. Renowned cardiologist Michael Ozner, MD, author of the best-sellers The Great American Heart Hoax and The Miami Mediterranean Diet, shows how to train the body’s most valuable machine.
Cardiologists can measure whether or not you have a fit heart, or cardiovascular fitness, by doing a stress test with a standardized treadmill exercise test. Based on your age and the stage of exercise you achieve, we can determine your level of fitness. We can also look at heart function with an echocardiogram and see how the main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, is contracting.
A healthy left ventricle has a normal ejection fraction if it pumps at least 50% of the blood within it each heart beat. An ejection fraction less than 50% indicates left ventricular dysfunction and the lower the number the more severe is the impairment. Progressive left ventricular dysfunction can eventually lead to congestive heart failure, meaning the heart muscle is no longer strong enough to provide blood flow to the tissues of the body.
The need for a stress test is generally left to the judgment of your physician; however, anybody with risk factors for heart disease should see their doctor to consider a stress test prior to embarking on an exercise program.