Keep Your Heart Healthy During Warm Weather Workouts

Warm weather workouts and a lack of fluids can stress your heart, says a New York cardiologist.

The combination makes your heart work harder to pump blood to the surface of your skin, which aids with sweating to cool your body down.

“When you sweat, you lose a lot of salt and electrolytes through your skin and that will make it very difficult for you to keep fully hydrated,” said Evelina Grayver, MD, director of the coronary care unit at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.

“When you are significantly dehydrated and there’s not enough fluid in the body per se, you’re definitely at risk for having significant types of arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).”

One of the most common arrhythmias is SINUS tachycardia, which occurs when your heart beats incredibly fast, explained Dr. Grayver. In extreme cases, this can lead to lightheadiness, nausea and dizziness.

In addition to your heart, dehydration puts significant strain on all of the muscles and kidneys as well.

To counter these effects, Dr. Grayver advises fitness buffs to:

• Drink plenty of H20 or coconut water before, during and after a workout.
• Avoid sports drinks because of the amount of sugar they contain.
• Work out in the early morning or evening hours and avoid exercising outdoors during the hottest part of the day (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
• If you’re new to exercise, or haven’t worked out in a while, go slow and build up your cardiac conditioning.

To learn more about heart arrhythmias and other types of heart conditions, click here.