Difference between heavy breathing and shortness of breath

If you’ve visited our cardiovascular practice in Bay Ridge, we’ve recommended that you get at least 2.5 hours of exercise each week to keep your heart healthy and your blood flowing strong.

If you’ve visited us because you have heart disease, blockage in your arteries, or lung problems, we’ve also cautioned you to get medical attention right away if you experience shortness of breath.

This makes many of our patients nervous about exercising on their own. They want to improve their circulatory health, but they are afraid of pushing their limits and causing a cardiac event.

It’s so important to get 2.5 hours of weekly exercise. It’s also important to exercise safely.

Luckily, there is an easy way to check your breathing while you exercise. In order to safely and effectively strengthen your heart muscle during exercise, you should be breathing too heavily to sing, but you should still be able to talk normally.