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Light Exercise and Pulmonary Hypertension — What’s Safe to Do?
I am still very new to whether or not I can exercise with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and would like some advice.
Is it possible and safe for someone with PH to do very light exercise such as slow walking, gentle stretching or very light cycling? Of course, I realise that everyone is different and that medical advice should always come first. I am mainly interested in finding out what activities are generally considered to be safer or more recommended for people with PH, my family have not been out for a long time due to their illness and the lack of good views outside in the winter, and would like to get him out and about to see spring.
I would be grateful if anyone would be willing to share their personal experiences or advice, especially on how to approach exercise with caution (e.g., warning signs to stop, things to watch out for).
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights with me.
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7 Replies
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I exercise daily and walk briskly about 1.5 miles. I adjust my O2 to pulse 3 or 4 to keep my %sat above 90% and my heart rate below 110bpm. I have also started swimming workouts again after modifying an old snorkel with 50feet of tubing to deliver O2 while I swim intervals. I am currently swimming just over 2,000m 3x a week. Use your O2 and listen to your body, I wear an Apple Watch so I can keep track of heart rate and an oximeter to check my O2 sats. Get out and enjoy the sunshine, we live in a marvelous world.
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I am impressed. Do you run your hose through the snorkel? I LOVE swimming, but with O2 use, thought it would be too difficult.
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I modified the snorkel with a brass fitting that they use in aquariums. It passes through a hole I punched in the silicon near my mouth. The fitting is threaded for a 1/8″ nipple that I attach my hose to. The snorkel has a valve at the mouthpiece to reduce rebreathing. I run the O2 on continuous 2L or pulse 3L depending on what I am doing.
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Thanks! I’ll add these to the try list! If there are better ways to exercise I’ll share them too~☺
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momogo, yea, try to stay as active as possible. My PAH doc said to not go over 10 pounds weightlifting, but a couple large soup cans work. Also, walking is awesome for you. If you have access to pulmonary-cardio rehab, take advantage of that. I still go every few weeks, the insurance doesn’t pick up the cost, but it’s only $10 at the health facility. As the docs say “use it or lose it”. Best of luck.
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Wow, lifting canning jars is such a great idea, I would take my family and lift the little cans to get moving first! When the weather is nice will ride the tricycle along to the park! Not only can the tricycle carry people, it wins for stability and my family can ride it by themselves!
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My Pulmonologist and Cardiologist stress the importance of exercise. There’s not much I can do since I can’t walk very far without becoming very short of breath even though I to run oxygen up. I bought a recumbent bike. Since I’m sitting I can do that. My doctors approve. I think we can do anything we feel like within reason.
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