Is ‘Cardio’ Enough? What You Need to Know About Cardiovascular Fitness

Cardiovascular exercise gets the credit for heart health, but the relationship between aerobic activity and cardiac fitness is more nuanced than many people realize. Running, swimming, and cycling strengthen your heart, but they don’t address every aspect of cardiovascular wellness.

Board-certified cardiologist Syed W. Bokhari, MD, FACC, FSVM, helps patients build complete fitness programs that protect their hearts at Advanced Cardiovascular Care, Inc., in Riverside, California.

Logging miles on the treadmill or bike improves your cardiovascular fitness, but your heart needs more than endurance training to stay healthy for the long term.

What aerobic exercise does for your heart

Sustained aerobic activity forces your heart to pump faster and harder to deliver oxygen-rich blood to working muscles. Over time, this regular challenge strengthens your heart muscle and improves its efficiency.

Your cardiovascular system adapts by lowering your resting heart rate. When your heart beats fewer times per minute at rest, it’s doing less work to pump the same amount of blood throughout your body.

Your muscles also become better at extracting oxygen from your blood during aerobic training. That means your heart faces less demand during everyday activities.

The cardiovascular benefits of cardio

Regular aerobic exercise creates measurable improvements in your cardiovascular system:

• Lower blood pressure
• Reduced cholesterol levels
• Better blood sugar control
• Decreased inflammation markers

Most adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week for cardiovascular benefits. 

What makes a complete cardiovascular fitness program

Aerobic exercise alone doesn’t prepare your cardiovascular system for all the demands placed on it. Your heart needs more than endurance training to function optimally.

Strength training protects your heart

Resistance exercise builds muscle mass that supports your metabolism and helps control blood sugar. 

Your blood pressure temporarily rises during strength training, helping your blood vessels maintain flexibility. This temporary stress teaches your cardiovascular system to adapt to varied demands.

People who combine aerobic exercise with resistance training have lower rates of heart disease than those who do cardio alone. 

Flexibility and recovery 

Stretching and mobility work improve blood flow to your extremities and help prevent the muscle imbalances that lead to injury. When you’re injured, you typically reduce physical activity, which negatively affects your cardiovascular health.

Recovery days give your heart and blood vessels time to adapt to exercise stress. Overtraining without adequate rest can temporarily suppress your immune system and increase inflammation.

Lifestyle factors that affect cardiovascular fitness

Your workouts can’t do all the heavy lifting when it comes to heart health. How you sleep, manage stress, and eat throughout the day has just as much impact on your cardiovascular system as your time at the gym.

Sleep quality and heart recovery

Sleep quality affects your heart’s ability to recover from exercise and daily stress. People who consistently sleep fewer than seven hours per night have higher rates of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Stress management

Chronic stress elevates cortisol levels, which damage blood vessels and promote inflammation. Managing stress through meditation, deep breathing, or other techniques protects the cardiovascular gains you make through exercise.

Nutrition that supports your workouts

Your diet fuels your workouts and recovery. You can’t exercise your way out of a poor diet because the inflammation and arterial damage from processed foods counteract many of the benefits of physical activity.

Monitor your progress with professional guidance

Cardiovascular fitness looks different for everyone based on age, current health, and risk factors. Dr. Bokhari evaluates your cardiovascular fitness level and helps you develop an exercise program that matches your capabilities while progressively challenging your system. 

Regular checkups allow you to track improvements in your cardiovascular markers and adjust your program as needed.

Schedule a consultation with Dr. Bokhari by phone or online today to develop a complete fitness plan that protects your heart health.