Hypertension & more :: exercise and high blood pressure

The truth about exercise and high blood pressure

Research provides strong evidence on the connection between exercise and high blood pressure control. If you are wondering how to reduce blood pressure, remember that part of the answer lies in physical activity.

If you suffer from hypertension, it is quite possible that an unhealthy lifestyle is contributing to it. A diet without enough healthy foods, smoking, alcohol consumption, stress and of course, lack of exercise could be factors.

The good news is, even if you have hypertension, if you start an exercise program under your doctor's guidance, it will contribute to lowering your blood pressure and improving other aspects of your health.

To get sufficient exercise, you need to exert yourself a bit beyond what you are used to.

As an example, let's say you take up swimming. At the beginning, maybe you'll find that you can swim only a couple of lengths or even just one length of the pool, after which you are completely exhausted.

As you practice regularly, you will find that your fitness improves to the point where swimming two lengths is not a stretch at all.

And you may soon be able to swim multiple lengths easily.

The same thing applies to other forms of exercise as well, like walking, cycling, etc.

When you exercise, blood is utilized in the muscles to support your efforts. Very soon, the muscles become efficient at extracting oxygen from the bloodstream.

At that point, the body will start to need less oxygenated blood to function well.

And that means, your heart doesn't have to pump as much blood for the body to function at an optimum level. As a result of this lowered demand on the heart muscles, your blood pressure becomes lower and more stable.

Your resting heart rate will drop as well. No wonder physical activity is part of most high blood pressure treatments and therapies.

Eventually, this means you will be able to undertake more strenuous tasks but the demands on your heart remain at a relatively low level. Your blood pressure also remains at a lowered level.

There's a strong positive link between exercise and high blood pressure -- use it to your full advantage.

Studies have shown that regular exercise tends to limit the rise in blood pressure. It improves the cardiovascular condition even in already healthy people.

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