Abstract

‘I knew one who set himself a task of sawing wood for half an hour every day and was nearly cured’ William Heberden

Patients with angina pectoris often tend to avoid exercise as much as possible, and in the past they were usually encouraged in this attitude by their physician. Opinion is now changing, and such evidence as there is suggests that regular exercise helps most patients with ischaemic heart disease, since it can lead to considerable improvement in exercise tolerance. Furthermore, exercise leads to an increase in the fibrinolytic activity of plasma¹ and this may be an advantage.