Heart disease, also known as Cardiovascular disease, is the leading cause of death in Australia, affecting 4.2 million Australians. It accounted for nearly 30% of all deaths in 2015 and in most cases, these deaths are preventable. Cardiovascular disease is an umbrella term for various diseases that involve the heart and/or blood vessels such as the following:
- Hypertension
- Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
- Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
- Heart Failure
- Cardiomyopathy
These conditions occur due to an increased pressure in the arteries resulting from a number of factors such as obstruction or narrowing of the arteries, decreased efficiency of the muscle tissues of the heart or increased blood pressure.
Exercise is beneficial for patients with Cardiovascular disease as the arteries in our body vasodilate in response to the increased demand of blood supply to the muscles. As a result, there is a decrease in pressure in the arteries and the heart no longer needs to work as hard to pump the blood around the body.
During the month of October I will be taking part in The Heart Foundation’s My Marathon Fundraiser. All funds raised will go towards life-changing heart research in the aim to fight heart disease. The challenge is to complete a marathon over the month of October. Participants have 4 weeks to run or walk a total of 42.2km. If you would like to support me and donate today, follow this link to my fundraising page.
Lauren Turner
Accredited Exercise Physiologist
B.ExSci
GDip.ExSci
ESSAM
