Did you know that your heart is a muscle, the Cardiac Muscle? All of the muscles in your body require movement or their tone and ability to perform their assigned tasks will dwindle and eventually atrophy. Exercise will help to strengthen your heart by making it pump more efficiently, improving the flow of blood in and out of your heart and throughout your body. Exercise will also improve your body’s ability to handle stress.

Did you know that lack of physical exercise can actually increase your risk of heart disease? Lack of physical exercise is also related to many chronic and even debilitating diseases. Obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure may actually be prevented or at least minimized with an adequate amount of daily or weekly exercise.

Did you know that the best type of exercise for your heart is regular aerobic exercise? Activities involving continuous movement, such as dancing, skating, bicycling, swimming, running, jogging and even walking, can build up your endurance and improve the functioning of your heart as well as your breathing capacity.

Resistive exercises, especially utilizing free weights or weight bearing machines, help you develop muscle tone and stronger muscles in your entire body and especially in your heart. A lifestyle that includes a variety of physical activities, such as gardening, housework and specific workout routines, are essential for maintaining good health throughout the years.

At this point, you may be saying to yourself, “I know all that. I’ve heard this before.” Yes, we have all been told that exercise is important for all of us to maintain good health, regardless of our age and physical condition. However, there may be something about our magnificent hearts that you do not know. This important awareness could literally save your life.

I am talking about Broken Heart Syndrome.Most of us, at one time in our life, may have suffered from an unrequited love, an unexpected and unwanted breakup or the sudden loss of someone we deeply loved. Any one of us could suffer from Broken Heart Syndrome. I am not talking about just an emotional breakdown.

Doctors have actually discovered that a broken heart can be dangerous for your health. The condition was originally called takotsubo, cardiomyopathy. Now it is often called stress cardiomyopathy, stress-induced cardiomyopathy or apical ballooning syndrome. This is a temporary heart condition brought on by an emotionally painful and stressful situation, such as the loss of a loved one or a severe breakup.

People with broken heart syndrome may feel severe chest pain and think they are having a heart attack. What is actually happening is an intense increase in stress hormones causing your heart to temporarily enlarge (balloon) which prevents it from pumping well. Sometimes, the stress of a broken heart can trigger a real heart attack if your blood vessels have been building up plaque and you didn’t know it.

Broken heart syndrome is treatable and the condition usually is eliminated in about a week. If not, there may have been an underlying heart condition that has surfaced because of the heartbreak. So the emotional pain may actually become a gift that saves your life.