Channel: Lee Health

Category: Education

Tags: heart healthmajor impact on your healthusing body weight as a weighthipsphysician assistantincreasing bone densitywalking10000 steps a dayaerobicheart surgeonheartlower your resting heart rate

Description: Taking steps to help your heart. Lee Health Physician Assistant Cathy Murtagh-Schaffer said, “Walking is one of those things that it’s aerobic, it actually uses your own body weight as a weight, and you gain the benefits of increasing your bone density in your hips by walking.” Walking is a great way to get active and it has both physical and mental benefits. “It allows you to get outside and allows you to breathe some fresh air and engage with the nature around you and for mental health that’s really important,” said Murtagh-Schaffer. Exercise like walking can help lower your resting heart rate. “I used to work for a heart surgeon who said you only get so many heartbeats in a lifetime. It’s better to have them slow you don’t use them all up at once,” said Murtagh-Schaffer. While 10,000 steps a day are a nice goal, Murtagh-Schaffer said consistency is key, “I think it’s more important about the duration and I would suggest that 30 minutes at least five times a week is what you should aim for.” Simple steps that can have a major impact on your health. View More Health Matters video segments at LeeHealth.org/Healthmatters Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Lee Health - Caring People. Inspiring Care. Visit LeeHealth.org