After a heart attack, exercise stops being optional and becomes a core part of treatment and long‑term prevention. In Los Angeles, the challenge is balancing the city’s hills, heat, traffic, and smog with its huge advantages—miles of beach paths, parks, and year‑round outdoor weather.

Why Exercise Matters After a Heart Attack

• Regular, appropriate exercise helps your heart pump more efficiently, improves circulation, and can lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.
• Movement reduces the risk of another heart event and improves mood, energy, and confidence, which many people find shaken after a heart attack.
For most people, the question is not if they should exercise, but how and how much—and at what pace to build back up.

Start With Cardiac Rehab and Medical Clearance

• A formal cardiac rehabilitation program is usually the safest way to restart exercise, because trained staff monitor your heart rate, rhythm, blood pressure, and symptoms as you move.
• Before creating your own routine from Griffith Park trails to the beach bike path, your cardiologist should clear you, review any restrictions (like heart‑rate limits), and explain what warning signs mean you must stop.
Ask specifically:
• “What kinds of exercise are okay for me right now?”
• “What heart‑rate range and effort level should I aim for?”
• “Are hills, stairs, or strength training safe for me yet?”
Clear answers will help you design an LA‑friendly plan that matches your actual condition, not someone else’s story.

Phase 1: Short, Flat Walks Close to Home
Early on, the goal is to reintroduce gentle, consistent movement without overloading the heart.
• Many people start with 5–10 minutes of flat walking once or twice per day, gradually extending by a few minutes as long as they feel well.
• In LA, that might mean:
• Walking on level sidewalks near your home.
• Circling a small neighborhood park.
• Using an indoor mall or large store for climate‑controlled, flat walking on hot or very smoggy days.
Key tips:
• Walk with a companion at first if possible.
• Keep the pace “easy”—you should be able to speak in sentences without gasping.
• Stop if you feel chest discomfort, unusual shortness of breath, dizziness, or palpitations.

Phase 2: Expanding Distance and Variety
As your stamina improves and your medical team agrees, you can aim for 20–30 minutes of walking most days, eventually working toward about 150 minutes of moderate activity per week if appropriate for you.
LA‑specific options at this stage include:
• Neighborhood loops:
Plan a regular route near home to avoid long drives; this reduces fatigue from transportation and makes exercise easier to stick with.
• Parks with gentle paths:
• Flat or gently rolling areas of Griffith Park.
• Local community parks with paved walking loops or tracks.
These allow you to avoid steep climbs while enjoying more scenery and fresh air.
• Indoor options on bad‑air or extreme‑heat days:
• Treadmills at a gym or community center.
• Mall walking.
These help you keep consistent even when summer heat or air quality alerts make outdoor exertion less safe.
Think of this phase as building a “base”—your body is relearning how to handle sustained, comfortable movement.

Griffith Park: How to Use It Safely

Griffith Park offers everything from flat paths to steep hiking trails, which means it can be perfect or too intense depending on your stage of recovery.
Safer ways to use Griffith Park after a heart attack (with clearance):
• Start with flat or nearly flat sections rather than steep trailheads.
• Choose cooler times of day—early morning or later evening—to avoid heat stress.
• Walk with a friend or family member, carry your phone, and let someone know your planned route and duration.
What to avoid until your team says it is okay:
• Steep climbs, long stair sections, and fast hiking.
• Pushing pace on hot days or poor‑air‑quality days.
• “Chasing” younger or fitter companions who naturally walk much faster.
If your doctor agrees, you can eventually progress to gentle inclines, but that should be a deliberate decision, not something you drift into because a trail looks interesting.

Moving Toward the Beach: Flat, Scenic Cardio

For many Angelenos, the beach is the mental image of “healthy living”—and beach paths can be ideal for post–heart attack activity if you plan wisely.
Safe options (once you can comfortably walk 20–30 minutes):
• Walking on paved or packed bike/walk paths in places like Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan Beach, Long Beach, or Dockweiler.
• Keeping your pace moderate: you should still be able to talk; racing cyclists and runners should be passing you, not the other way around.
Things to keep in mind:
• Start on solid surfaces rather than deep sand, which is significantly harder on the heart and leg muscles.
• Wear supportive shoes, a hat, and sunscreen; bring water and avoid the hottest midday hours.
• On cooler or overcast days, remember that effort can still stress your heart even if you do not feel hot.
The goal is consistent, enjoyable movement—not “crushing” a workout.

Strength Training, Hills, and Higher Intensity

Beyond walking, strength and slightly higher‑intensity work may be allowed later in recovery, but only with explicit medical clearance.
Typically introduced later (if approved):
• Light resistance training with bands or light weights to support everyday function and maintain muscle mass.
• Short, gentle inclines or small hills added into otherwise flat walks once you tolerate steady efforts well.
Generally postponed until clearly approved:
• Heavy weightlifting, especially straining lifts where you hold your breath.
• High‑intensity interval training (HIIT), sprinting, or fast hill repeats.
• Competitive sports with sudden bursts of effort or contact.
Cardiac rehab often provides a blueprint: once you know exactly what they allowed you to do under supervision, you can mirror those patterns more confidently on your own.

How to Judge Effort Safely

Two simple tools matter more than technology:
• The talk test:
For most post–heart attack exercise, you should be able to speak in short sentences while moving. If you can only get out one or two words, you are likely going too hard.
• Your symptom radar:
Stop and get checked if you notice:
• Chest pressure, tightness, or pain.
• Unusual shortness of breath.
• Palpitations, fluttering, or a very irregular heartbeat sensation.
• Lightheadedness, dizziness, or feeling like you might faint.
If you keep a simple log (date, duration, route, how you felt), you and your cardiologist can spot patterns and safely increase your activity over time.

Working Around LA Realities: Traffic, Smog, and Time

Los Angeles recovery is not happening in a vacuum—you still face long commutes, crowded streets, and variable air quality.
Practical adjustments:
• Walk near home or work instead of driving far just to exercise; this reduces fatigue from sitting in traffic and makes consistency easier.
• Check air‑quality forecasts; on bad days, move your walk earlier, go indoors, or shorten and take it easier.
• If your schedule is tight, break activity into two shorter sessions (for example, 10–15 minutes in the morning and 10–15 minutes in the evening).
Short, regular sessions usually beat rare, long ones—especially for a healing heart.

Mental Recovery: Rebuilding Confidence to Move

After a heart attack, many people are secretly afraid that any exertion might trigger another one. That fear is understandable but can lead to under‑moving, deconditioning, and more risk in the long run.
Helpful approaches:
• Use cardiac rehab as a confidence builder—seeing your heart monitored during exercise reassures many patients that safe movement is possible.
• Start with environments where you feel safe and can easily stop or sit down, like parks with benches or mall corridors.
• Walk with supportive friends or family who understand your pace and won’t pressure you to go faster or farther than planned.
Your goal is to rebuild trust in your body while respecting its limits.

Putting It All Together: A Sample Progression

This is a general illustration only—your actual plan must be tailored by your own team:
• Weeks 1–3 (with clearance):
• 5–10 minutes of flat walking once or twice a day near home.
• Focus on easy pace and symptom awareness.
• Weeks 4–6:
• Build toward 20 minutes of walking most days on flat routes (neighborhood or small parks).
• Optional: one slightly longer weekend walk on flat ground if tolerated.
• Weeks 7–12:
• Progress toward 30 minutes of moderate walking most days (150 minutes/week total), including occasional beach‑path or park walks.
• Consider gentle inclines or light resistance work only if your doctor explicitly approves.
Timelines vary widely—complications, other conditions, or different procedures can make your path shorter or longer.
Used well, Los Angeles is an asset, not an obstacle, in recovery from a heart attack. With medical clearance, a gradual plan, and smart choices about where and when you move—from neighborhood sidewalks to Griffith Park flats to the beach paths—you can safely reclaim activity and protect your heart for the long term.