Pericarditis is a serious medical condition that needs immediate attention and treatment. Unfortunately, thousands of people suffer from it every year and mistake their symptoms for cardiac arrest or cardiac failure. Many of these patients require lifelong treatment and care in order to continue living a healthy life. Doctors are increasingly recommending patients to add moderate exercise to their routine. Although pericarditis may prevent you from performing regular exercise, there are ways in which you can use exercise to improve your condition, maintain good health, and return to your normal routine and activities.
Pericarditis is most commonly found in men and women between the age of 20 and 50. Since these are the most productive years of a person’s life, it is important to find a way to continue exercising so that you can remain healthy. Some of the symptoms of pericarditis may be restrictive. Symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, inflammation in the abdomen and legs, and pain in the chest and shoulders can prevent you from exercising regularly.
A research performed in 2006 suggests that patients suffering from pericarditis should refrain from performing any kind of stressful physical activity till they have any symptoms of pericarditis. Exercise should only be attempted when the doctor gives you a clean bill of health, and you do not have any physical discomfort at all. Typically, an average case of pericarditis takes about two to three weeks to heal. After that, the patient should take at least another week to rest and only then start any exercise. Trying to exercise too soon after pericarditis may only aggravate the condition and cause its recurrence. You should also consider the underlying cause of the condition before you decide when it is right for you to begin exercising again. For instance, if your pericarditis is caused due to infection in the heart muscles, you may wait for six weeks before beginning to exercise again.
While exercise will neither cure pericarditis nor expedite recovery, it is important to maintain a healthy routine. Exercise is required to build both endurance and strength. It will also help reduce cholesterol, maintain a healthy blood pressure, and increase overall levels of fitness. Regular exercise is also important for boosting immunity and warding off infections that may cause recurrence of infections that cause pericarditis.
There are several different exercises that you could try. However, do take an appointment with your doctor and discuss the kind of exercise you are planning on. Start with easy and gentle exercises. Slow walking, for instance, is a great way to ease into the exercise routine. You can also try out gentle stretching exercises such as yoga before you begin any exercising routine. As you become more comfortable, you can start adding regular exercising options to your routine. Brisk walking, for instance, can be performed after a few days of slow walking. This will not only help you keep healthy, it will also improve endurance and blood circulation. Brisk walking is a great way to improve the functioning of your heart and build endurance. Swimming is another great way to increase the intensity of your exercise. You can move to swimming straight away after slow walking or performing yoga for some time. You can even brisk walk for half an hour a day and swim for half an hour a day. You can increase the time you dedicate to both as you feel more in control and build your stamina.
Regaining your strength is important and is also one of the main aims of exercising after pericarditis. So make sure that you include some cardio exercises in your exercise routine after pericarditis. However, do make sure that you do not over exert yourself as that could be detrimental for your condition and may cause you additional distress or even lead to recurrence of pericarditis.
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