Submitted by Dr T on November 12, 2013 – 12:42pm
Question:
What are the specific foods to stay away from and what are specific foods that would help ?I am 67 year old male and going thru testing on my condition now. My health is good to excellent and I exercise now.Should I rise the heart rate to standard norms for my age 150 to 160 bpm for a long period ?Thank you
Hi Gregory,
I am not sure why you are concerned about an enlarged aorta, but if that is an issue for you, you probably have other concerns such as hypertension and atherosclerosis. I blogged about an enlarged aorta before and this link should provide you with enough information.
Most exercise programs suggest that the heart rate during exercise should not exceed 60 – 70% of their maximum heart rate. One way to determine if you are reaping the benefits from exercise is to calculate your Recovery Heart Rate, a measure of how quickly you return to your resting heart rate after a workout. To calculate your recovery heart rate:
- Take your pulse ten seconds immediately after you have finished exercising. Write down the number.
- One minute later, take your pulse again and write it down.
Subtract the number for the second pulse check from the number for the first pulse check. This number is your Recovery Heart Rate. The greater the number, the better shape you are in!
By the way, I am older than you, and get my heart rate up regularly to over 160 bpm!
Hope this helps,