Cardiopulmonary Exercise: Its Long-Term Outcomes

Introduction:

Sedentary lifestyles are a major risk factor for developing several non-communicable diseases like diabetes (increased blood sugar), cancer (cells divide uncontrollably), and cardiovascular diseases. Estimates show that 3.2 million people die yearly due to insufficient physical activity.

Cardiopulmonary exercise is any form of exercise that requires the heart and lungs to work together to increase the body's oxygen consumption. This type of exercise typically involves actions such as running, cycling, and swimming. Its often used to assess and improve cardiovascular fitness. Cardiopulmonary exercise also helps to reduce the risk of chronic respiratory and cardiovascular illness.

What Are the Effects of Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise on General Health?

Cardio-pulmonary exercises are known to improve an individual's overall health. The benefits of doing exercise are as follows:

1. Improved Cardiovascular Fitness: Regular cardio exercise can help in improving the heart's overall fitness and reduce the risk of developing stroke and other heart diseases (bursting of a blood vessel in the brain or something blocks the blood supply to some area of the brain).

2. Improving Lung Capacity: Regular cardio exercise can help improve the lung's capacity to take in more oxygen leading to improved breathing and overall better health.

3. Reduce the Risk of Chronic Diseases: Regular cardio exercise can help reduce the risk of chronic lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), and obesity.

4. Improved Mood: Regular exercise can improve an individual's mood and reduce stress, leading to a better quality of life.

5. Improved Sleep: Regular cardio exercise can help improve the quality of sleep leading to more restful nights and greater alertness during the day.

In this article, we will discuss the effect of long-term cardiopulmonary exercise on lung health.

What Are the Effects of Cardiopulmonary Exercises on Lung Health?

During a cardiopulmonary exercise, the two important organs of the body are activated, the lungs and the heart. Through respiration, the lungs bring oxygen to the body, meet the energy requirement, and remove carbon dioxide, the byproduct released during energy production. The oxygen is carried to the heart, and the heart pumps the oxygen to the skeletal muscles doing the exercise and to the rest of the body. When a person exercises, the oxygen demand of the body increases. The body uses more oxygen to produce energy, and in turn, more carbon dioxide byproduct is produced. The breathing rate is increased to about 40 to 60 times a minute (about 100 liters of air) during exercise compared to only 15 times a minute (12 liters of air) when a person is resting. Blood circulation also increases rapidly to take oxygen to the skeletal muscles so they can keep working.

A healthy lung keeps a large breathing reserve. After a hefty exercise, a healthy individual may feel out of breath but not short of breath. However, in a person with compromised lung function, a large part of the breathing reserve is used during the exercise, making the person feel out of breath. It's an unpleasant feeling but is not generally dangerous.

The long-term benefits of exercise on the respiratory system are as follows:

• Increased Vital Capacity: The maximum volume of air exhaled following a maximal inhalation is vital capacity. As mentioned earlier, when a person exercises, the muscles work harder, the body uses more oxygen to produce energy, and increased carbon dioxide is produced as a byproduct. The breathing rate goes from 15 per minute (12 liters of air) at resting to about 40 to 60 times per minute (100 liters of air) during exercise. When this occurs over a long period with regular exercise, the vital capacity will increase, which means the total amount of air that is forced in and out of the lungs in one breath will increase, improving the efficiency of the lung.

• Increased Lung Capacity and Volume: The air volume in the lungs at different stages of the respiratory cycle indicates the lung volume. The volume of air inside the lungs on inspiration with maximum effort is called lung capacity. With exercise to meet the increased oxygen demand, the breathing rate increases, increasing the lung volumes and capacity.

• Increased Number of Functioning Alveoli: Studies have shown that the number of capillaries increases around the alveoli (small air sacs in the lungs) with regular exercise. In addition, the capillaries get more dilated, thereby increasing the gas exchange at the alveoli and making the process more efficient.

• Increased Strength of the Respiratory Muscles: Regular cardiopulmonary exercise strengthens the respiratory muscles like the diaphragm and the intercostals. When the muscles get stronger, they can work more efficiently, increasing breathing efficiency, and the chest cavity becomes larger to accommodate more air; this allows more oxygen to be inhaled, supplying more to the tissues and increasing respiratory muscle strength also means more carbon dioxide is pushed out of the lungs.

• Changes in Lung Efficiency: With regular cardiopulmonary exercise, the overall efficiency of the lung improves over time. Efficient respiration means sufficient oxygen is delivered to the cells throughout the body. It also increases the blood circulation surrounding the lungs, ensuring a better gas exchange.

Can Patients With Long-Term Lung Conditions Exercise?

Patients with chronic lung disease can improve their conditions with regular exercise. The patients might feel out of breath quickly. And this keeps them demotivated from doing exercise. However, the temptation to avoid exercise from the thought of breathlessness will make them less fit and decrease the quality of their life. For a person with a lung condition, it is always best to take advice from a physician or a physiotherapist before beginning exercise to ensure it is safe and the workouts align with the patient's capacity. The exercise programs are implemented sequentially over time to let the body adapt. Intermediate exercises can help patients deal with shortness of breath. In this case, short exercises that last one or two minutes are carried out alternatively, with rest periods in between; this is called interval training.

Conclusion:

Regular cardiopulmonary exercise canbe beneficial in many ways and are enjoyable even with a long-term health condition. It improves the quality of life regardless of a healthy state or lung condition. People often associate fitness with good heart health, weight loss, and reducing the risk of lifestyle illnesses such as diabetes. However, exercise plays a major role in keeping the lungs healthy.