Exercise

Along with eating healthy meals throughout the day and taking your medications, regular exercise can go a long way in keeping you and your organ healthy.

Staying active and enjoying your favorite activities can help both physically and emotionally:

• Helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure
• Makes it possible to reach or maintain a healthy weight
• Maintains muscle tone and helps protect bone strength
• Reduces stress

Exercising Responsibly

Once exercise becomes a regular part of your life, it can be easy to overdo it. If you experience any of the following issues, stop exercising and notify your doctor immediately:

• Chest, neck, or jaw pain or pressure
• Excessive, unexplainable fatigue
• Unusual shortness of breath, dizziness, or light-headedness during or after exercise
• Persistent irregular or rapid heartbeat during or after exercise

Exercise Tips

Create an exercise plan with your transplant team that meets your needs:

• Start slow and set realistic goals
• Warm up before any exercise with gentle stretching to help get the blood flowing
• Exercise at your own pace—don’t push yourself
• No activity is too small—take the stairs, park farther from an entrance, walk the dog, or clean the house
• Make sure to cool down after you exercise—stretch and walk at a slow pace
• Check your heart rate regularly—ask your doctor how and when to check your heart rate and what your target heart rate should be while exercising
• Stay hydrated to help restore the fluids lost through exercise—drink 10 to 15 ounces of fluid 10 to 15 minutes prior to exercising, and every 20 to 30 minutes while exercising
• Stay motivated by listening to your favorite music, varying your exercise routine, choosing activities that you enjoy, or working out with a friend or family member

Remember to always talk to your doctor before starting or changing your exercise routine.

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