Published: August, 2009Q. Long ago I was told that isometric exercises,like weight lifting, shouldn't be done by anyone with a heartcondition. Is that still the prevailing wisdom?A.
Isometric exercises are those in which a muscletenses but doesn't contract. Clasping your hands together andpushing or lifting free weights are examples of isometricexercises.
Physicians once discouraged people with heart diseasefrom doing predominantly isometric exercises, like weight liftingand other resistance exercises, in part because they can lead totemporary but dramatic increases in blood pressure. Liftingweights is also thought of as an anaerobic exercise, one in whichthe body's demand for oxygen exceeds supply. The fear was thatthe combination of increased blood pressure and oxygen depletionmight trigger a cardiovascular event like a heart attack.