Exercise lowering Hypertension

Lack of exercise is a major cause of high blood pressure. In rural agrarian societies, one reason hypertension is so rare is due to the great amount of physical work required just to survive and eat.

One session of exercise at just 40 percent of maximal capacity, the equivalent of moderate walking, can lower blood pressure significantly for up to twenty-four hours.

Regular exercise often reduces body-fat weight and improves other metabolic processes such as insulin sensitivity and sympathetic activity which are causally linked to hypertension.

When exercise is combined with diet, weight loss and blood pressure reduction increase significantly. 

Weight loss reduces basal norepinephrine levels and lowering of plasma insulin attenuates sympathetic nerves activity and decreases sodium retention in the kidney. These combined adaptations all contribute to lower blood pressure.

Exercise lowers both systolic and diastolic pressures very dramatically. In one study involving a total of 2419 men and women by the University of New Orleans, doctor examined that aerobic exercise was associated with what those researchers called ‘impressive’ reduction of nearly 4 points in systolic blood pressure and 3 points in diastolic on average.

Published by Preventive Medicine volume 37, 2003, doctors at the University of Tennessee simply had the patients walk every day with no other changes in their life styles. For eight weeks they simply walk a lot every day. Their blood pressure fell dramatically.

The effect on blood pressure is proportional to the intensity and duration of exercise; light exercise such as calisthenics lowers pressure but the higher the exercise intensity and the longer the duration of exercise the greater the blood pressure reduction will be.
Exercise lowering Hypertension

Lifestyle – Exercise

Lifestyle – Exercise
Lifestyle plays a major role in the development of hypertension and any program to reduce blood pressure must take this into consideration.

Medical experts note that any changes that are implemented must be maintained if blood pressure is to be controlled in a long term basis.

Smoking should be moderated or preferably totally avoided and alcohol intake should be kept to a minimum.

Weight loss reduces blood pressure in this with and without hypertension and be primary goal for hypertensive who are obese or moderately overweight.

Other factors for reducing and controlling hypertension are increased exercise and stress management.

Regular exercise reduces stress and blood pressure, so it is highly recommended as an integral part of your life.

Consistent aerobic exercise can both prevent and lower hypertension.

Swimming, which is frequently prescribed as a non impact exercise to lower high blood pressure, can produce a significant decrease in resting heart rate (a sign of cardiovascular health) and systolic blood pressure in previously sedentary people with elevated blood pressure.
Lifestyle – Exercise

Causes of High Blood Pressure

Causes of High Blood Pressure
The causes of short term rises in blood pressure high last only seconds or minutes are well understood, but these are not what we normally mean by high blood pressure. High blood pressure is important only when it is maintained for months or years – it is a high average pressure which is significant, not occasional high peaks. The causes of a long term rises in average pressure are not fully known, but we do know that it runs in families. This inherited tendency seems to account for about half the differences between people; the rest seems to depend on how they live and what they eat (not just in adult life, but they ate in infancy and childhood and how well nourished they were before they born).

One cause we do know about is overweight and weight reduction is a sensible first step in treatment. Weight loss depends mainly on using up more energy by taking more exercise and reducing energy input. In practice the most healthy way to do this is by reducing the amount of fats, oils, meats, sugar and alcohol in the diet, and instead eating more fruit, vegetables, cereal foods and fish. Eating less fat and oil is by far the most important of these changes. Another benefit from these changes in diet is that they help lower blood cholesterol levels and so reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Another known cause us excessive alcohol (which means more than 4 units of alcohol a day for a man or 3 units a day for woman – a unit alcohol is one glass of wine or one single measure of spirits or half a pint of average strength beer or lager). Again the biggest effect is in young people, limiting alcohol intake often brings high blood pressure back to normal without any other treatment.
Causes of High Blood Pressure