In years past, doctors were afraid to let heart exercise. When my father had a heart attack in 1968, he was kept for six weeks. Now, heart attack patients are in bed barely half a day before they are up and moving, Dr. Moffat said. The core of cardiac rehab is a exercise program to increase the ability of the heart to pump oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood more effectively throughout the body. The outcome is better , greater ability to enjoy life and decreased mortality. The same goes for patients with congestive heart . "Heart failure patients as old as 91 can increase their consumption significantly," Dr. Moffat said. Aerobic exercise lowers blood pressure in people with hypertension, and it improves peripheral in people who develop cramping leg pains when they walk — a condition called intermittent claudication. The treatment for it, in fact, is to walk a little farther each day. In people who have had transient ischemic , or ministrokes, "gradually increasing exercise improves blood flow to the brain and may diminish the risk of a full-blown stroke," Dr. Moffat said. And and strength exercises have been shown to improve endurance, walking speed and the ability to perform tasks of daily living up to six years after a stroke. As Randi knows, exercise cuts the risk of developing diabetes. And for those with , exercise improves glucose tolerance — less medication is needed to control blood sugar — and reduces the of life-threatening complications.