I often hear people say they are anxious about exercising with their defect. It is well known that exercise is medicine! Participating in regular physical activity helps prevent, acquired heart disease, heart failure, Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression, and anxiety. But if you are anxious about exercising then that doesn’t help you!

Perhaps if you knew where to start and your physician made an activity recommendation specific to you, you would feel confident enough to get started. Use the form below to start the conversation with your cardiologist.

What can you do to gain confidence in your ability to exercise?

Here is a quick video that gives you some information on how to get started with an exercise plan and more information on how the physical activity recommendation form for those with congenital heart defects was developed. This video is taken from a presentation given by Dr. Rachael Cordina, an adult congenital cardiologist practicing at Royal Prince Albert Hospital in Sydney Australia who has a special interest in exercise in the congenital heart patient, and me on the benefits of exercise for the congenital heart disease patient. We were asked to collaborate on a presentation for the Cardiac Neurodevelopment Outcomes Collaborative virtual conference.

How to use the physical activity recommendation form.

On your next visit to your cardiologist, bring this form with you. The form has been validated as feasible for use for both patients and physicians in a study published 6/2018 in the Journal of Congenital Cardiology

I hope this form will help you out with your exercise journey. Please let me know in the comments below.