How much running is enough for heart health?

Adults should aim for 75 to 150 minutes of running a week, or 150 to 300 minutes of brisk walking, to get the health benefits of exercise, according to Dr. Wasfy.

Do women's hearts respond to running differently than men's?

Not in terms of benefits. Dr. Wasfy says men and women see the same health benefits. Female masters endurance athletes also appear to be at lower risk than male endurance athletes of heart rhythm issues or excess plaque in the heart arteries, though researchers don't fully understand why.

What heart symptoms should women watch for when running?

Chest pain, breathlessness, a racing heart, or fainting or near-fainting that comes on with exercise and eases at rest. Dr. Wasfy says to talk to a medical team about these, and about any consistent, unexplained drop in exercise performance.

Can you run too much?

For most healthy adults, probably not in any harmful way. Dr. Wasfy says benefits stop growing beyond roughly two to three times the recommended amount, but that doesn't mean harm. The greatest threat to health is too little exercise.

Is Running Good for Your Heart? A Cardiologist Explains

Q: Is running good for your heart?

Yes, running is good for your heart. According to Dr. Meagan Wasfy, a sports cardiologist at Mass General Brigham, consistent running helps the heart adapt and enlarge and helps the heart and blood vessels stay less stiff with age. Those changes support better fitness and the longevity seen in people who stay active.

Girlboss Wellness Wednesday in collaboration with Jemma.

Lara here, Girlboss’ contributing writer. 👋

The running craze is officially upon us: 🏃‍♀️ from joining run clubs to signing up for half marathons (and documenting it all on Strava, obvs), it feels like it’s never been cooler to go for a jog.

And while we’re all for finding a new hot girl hobby, we wanted to check in with a doctor to figure out how to maximize the benefits and make sure we’re doing it safely, which is why today we’re chatting with a certified cardiology expert to get the 411. 🫀

Other stuff the Girlboss team is yapping about on Slack:

Bumble just got a new owner for $1.3 billion (and it’s now a private company).
In case you needed to hear this today.
There’s a reason this work bag from JEMMA has 10M views on TikTok.*

💼 Job of the day: Rockstar Games (a.k.a. the publisher of iconic games like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead) is hiring a Senior Project Coordinator to work out of its NYC office and manage its ongoing projects. The base pay starts at $100K! 🎮

Running Is So Hot Right Now! But What Is It Doing to Our Hearts?

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