People with HCM may be at an enhanced risk of cardiovascular disease, and therefore should try to follow expert recommendations for a heart-healthy lifestyle, such as adopting a healthy diet and exercise habits.
Get Regular Exercise, but Avoid Short Bursts
Some nervousness around exercise is natural in people with HCM, especially when physical activity causes symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath. And in rare cases, HCM can cause death by sudden cardiac arrest. This tragic outcome most famously occurs in young athletes, sometimes while they’re exercising.
“The first thing I tell patients is don’t be scared of exercising,” says Ningxin Wan, MD, a cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens in Flushing, New York, and assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine. But your cardiologist may tell you to avoid types of exercise that could overstress your heart.
Aim for sustained, regular, moderate endurance exercises like cycling, elliptical, walking, and jogging. Anything that requires sudden bursts of straining isn’t good for people with HCM, Dr. Wan says.
“What we don’t recommend is exercise that requires intense bursts like heavy weight lifting, contact sports, or anything that needs the patient to suddenly move or strain themselves. That gives the heart a sudden exercise rather than sustained, which can aggravate obstruction,” she says.
You should also not exercise on a full stomach or right after eating, since a full stomach can put pressure on the heart and make symptoms worse during exercise.
Stay Hydrated
Dehydration can worsen HCM symptoms.
“When you are dehydrated it’s easier for the sick heart muscle to get in the way and obstruct blood flow,” Wan says.
Though HCM doesn’t necessarily increase the risk of heart failure, studies have shown that regularly not drinking enough fluids can cause scarring in the heart tissue that increases that risk. It is even more important for people with underlying heart conditions like HCM to be sure to stay hydrated.
Avoid Extreme Heat
Subjecting your body to extreme heat like that of a sauna, steamroom, or hot tub, can make HCM symptoms worse, Wan says, so it’s best to avoid these situations. Immersing your body in moist heat can cause your blood pressure to drop, which increases the demands on your heart, a process that is sometimes exacerbated by common heart disease medications. The potential consequences include dizziness, irregular heartbeat, and even heart attack.
Lose Weight, if Necessary
Obesity puts extra strain on the heart in many different ways, and is strongly associated with cardiovascular risks. If you are overweight or have obesity, your cardiologist may work with a weight loss expert to determine what avenue is best for you. Wan says she sometimes prescribes GLP-1 medications to her patients with both HCM and obesity.
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