If you are one of the 72 million people in the United States with high blood pressure (hypertension), you may be taking prescription medication to help control it. Unfortunately, these prescriptions are often costly and may cause side effects. There are many lifestyle modifications that play an important role in the treatment and prevention of hypertension including dietary changes, limited alcohol and caffeine consumption, stress reduction and exercise. What type of exercise helps treat and prevent hypertension? And how? Read on.
- Assuming your doctor has cleared you for exercise, any type of endurance exercise such as low-impact aerobics, walking and swimming have been shown to help control hypertension. There is no need to start training for a marathon or the next big race since high intensity, high impact exercise will usually increase your heart rate and blood pressure, and may exceed safe ranges. Also heavy strength training should be avoided and replaced with lighter weights and higher repetitions.
- Try to fit some type of exercise into your life on most (preferably all) days of the week for about 30 minutes per day. If you have physical limitations that prevent you from exercising for 30 minutes consecutively, start with 10 minutes a few times a day. Don’t forget that gardening, cleaning your house or taking items up and down the stairs several times are considered forms of exercise. Work on progressing to a brisk walk or bike ride for 30 minutes.
- How does exercise help control your blood pressure? Regular physical activity makes your heart stronger which results in your heart pumping more blood with less effort. When your heart works less to pump blood, this lowers your blood pressure by decreasing the force on your arteries. Ultimately, regular exercise can lower your systolic blood pressure (the top number) by about 5-10 milliliters of mercury which is as good as some medications. If you don’t have high blood pressure, regular exercise can keep it from rising as you age.
- In order to keep your blood pressure low, it is important to keep exercising. It will normally take about one to three months for regular exercise to have an impact on your blood pressure, and you need to keep exercising in order to continue to see the benefits. Weight loss also has a positive impact on high blood pressure as well as many other health benefits.
- Be aware of the change to your blood pressure due to exercise. Your doctor may instruct you to take your blood pressure before and after exercise to gauge what type of exercise is safe for you to participate in. Some hypertension medications increase the heart rate so it is a good idea to know what your heart rate range should be. Using the rating of perceived of exertion scale (RPE) as opposed to your heart rate is a better way to gauge how intense you are working when you are taking heart rate altering medications.
If you don’t currently exercise regularly and you have high blood pressure, you may be surprised with the positive impact that consistent physical activity can have on your heart and ultimately your blood pressure. Don’t worry about how long you are able to exercise right away, just start doing something for a few minutes at a time and progress from there. Exercise is far less costly than medication, so why not save some money in the process? So put on your tennis shoes and get moving!
Contributor: Kim Farmer of Mile High Fitness & Wellness. Mile High Fitness & Wellness offers in-home personal training and corporate fitness solutions. Visit www.milehighfitness.com or email [email protected].