Should Heart Patients Pump Iron?

There was a time not that long ago when people with heart disease were told to rest, rest, rest. Then along came evidence that aerobic exercise was usually beneficial -- but stay away from weight training.

Now, in a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association we learn that some resistance training can be good for heart patients.

"Just like we once learned that people with heart disease benefited from aerobic exercise, we are now learning that guided, moderate weight training also has significant benefits," according to Mark Williams, professor of medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska.

Gray Iron wants to underscore two things: 1) Weight training is seen as a complement to aerobic exercise, not a replacement, according to Williams; and 2) any exercise program should be approved by a heart patient's physician.

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