Prescribing exercise

I’m currently doing a Future-learn free course on the use of exercise to treat diseases and conditions of various sortsĀ https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/exercise-prescription. This is of particular interest to me due to my general concern to keep fit and healthy and ward off possible heart disease in the future but also as exercise may also inhibit the development of my remaining cancer. I also have a very dear friend who is currently recovering from a quadruple bypass operation to deal with her heart condition and am keen to see if there is anything I can do to help her recovery. The course is for health professionals who are interested in prescribing exercise for their patients. Reading some of the materials it is clear that exercise can be potentially dangerous for some heart condition patients and should be prescribed with great care. Any activity is better than no activity even in these cases but it is imperative not to overdo it. There are ways of assessing an individual’s readiness for exercise and it will be important to listen to the consultant’s and physio’s advice. I think it is normal these days for heart patients to be put on a supervised exercise programme, as was my brother-in-law after having a couple of stents inserted. What will be important is keeping an appropriate level of exercise going after the programme (coupled to any dietary changes needed). The problem here is likely to be motivation, an area where friends and family can definitely help.

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