Exercise: as treatment to manage Blood Pressure
Many studies involving different age groups and differing exercise have
shown that regular physical activity lowers
blood pressure for those who have
hypertension. A review of over 20 physical activity and blood pressure studies
showed that, systolic blood pressure is lowered about 11 mm Hg and diastolic
blood pressure is reduced an average of 8 mm Hg with regular
effects have been documented for men, women, and children and can occur after
just a few weeks of training.
Lowering blood pressure 8 to 11 mm Hg is similar to the changes found after
treatment with a typical blood pressure-lowering medication. Reducing blood
pressure to this degree can reduce
heart attack rates by 25 percent!
So, exercise can be the difference between being placed on drugs, with all their
possible side effects and cost, and not needing any other treatment. For others,
exercise can eliminate the need for one or more blood pressure control, exercise
helps you feel better, decreases other risks for heart and blood vessel disease,
body fat, and improves your
level. On the other hand, blood
pressure medicines do none of those. And remember, the best they can do is not
make you feel worse.
1. Kinds of Exercise That Lower Blood Pressure
Nearly all exercises lower blood pressure. Endurance exercise such as
stair climbing, and
bike riding can help control
blood pressure. Even
weight lifting can be used to treat hyper-tension.
Practically any physical exercise you can think of can be used to lower your
blood pressure. However, to be effective and to improve your chance of success,
you should select exercises you enjoy and that are convenient. To get some
2. How Exercises Lower Blood Pressure
Exercise appears to reduce blood pressure in several different ways.
First, just taking off fat through physical activity will lower blood
pressure; this is similar to
body fat by
dieting. But exercise has
several advantages over just dieting. Breathing more rapidly, even with low
levels of exercise, and sweating during physical activity help you get rid of
water and salt, as would using a diuretic to lower blood pressure.
Also, exercise affects two major
hormones in our body. With training, the
resting level of adrenaline is reduced. This lowers your
heart rate and blood
pressure, just as if you used a
beta blocker, but with several major
differences. Using beta blockers causes you to become less fit (they typically
reduce aerobic fitness by 10 percent), but exercise makes you more fit. Instead
of feeling more fatigued and losing sleep, you have more energy and sleep much
better. And importantly, the blood cholesterol and
sugar abnormalities that can
occur with beta blocker use do not occur, and your
cholesterol levels and blood
sugar handling improved with exercise.
Another hormone, insulin, which is made in our pancreas, circulates in our
bloodstream and helps control sugar levels. Some of a condition referred to as
resistance. Their body needs to produce more insulin to control sugar.
Although this condition most commonly occurs when we have too much body fat, it
can occur for no apparent reason. These higher than usual insulin levels will
increase our body's salt stores by making our kidneys hold on to sodium. This
results in higher blood pressure. Regular exercise reduces insulin levels, and
this effect alone may reduce blood pressure.
3. How Long Should I Exercise?
Start with just 20 minutes. You can split your physical activity into two 10
minute periods, if it is more convenient. Then add 2 minutes to each exercise
day, every week, to reach a minimum of 30 minutes, three times each week.
Initial Formula for Exercise
Type of exercise
Aerobics or weight lifting
Intensity (how hard)
65 to75 percent of maximal heart rate,
or perceived exertion level of 2 to 3 out of 10 for aerobics.
Duration (how long)
20 minutes, increasing to 30 minutes
At least three times each week
However, just as some people require a large dose of medicine to control
their blood pressure, you may require larger dose of exercise. We suggest , you
can do this by increasing the number of exercise days.
4. Choosing an Exercise
Select activities you like to do and that fit into the time constraints of
your life. Don't worry about your skill level or how you will look. For example,
if you select swimming,
constant activity for 20 minutes is sufficient for the
first two weeks. It doesn't matter how far you go or how well you can swim (if
you are not a strong swimmer, make sure you can stand in the pool with your head
out of the water). If you choose to ride a bike, try an exercycle (a stationary
cycle). It is usually easier to use in the beginning, and unless you are
climbing hills, your workout will be more efficient and probably more vigorous.
With stationary bikes there is no starting and stopping at corners; you can't
fall off, become lost, or get a flat tire.
You only need to exercise at 65 to 75 percent of your
maximum heart rate to
lower blood pressure. If you are using a medicine that rate to lower blood
pressure. If you are using a medicine that has changed your heart rate, you can
use the convenient perceived exertion scale. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0
represents the amount of exercise you should exert yourself at a level of 2 to3.
By rating your own level of exertion, you don't have to rely on heart rates,
which can be different from person to person and be altered by taking certain
5. Exercise guidelines while taking Blood-Pressure Lowering Drug
When you exercise , while taking blood pressure - lowing drugs, it is often best
to use the perceived exertion scale and rely less on heart rate formulas.
Using your heart rate as a guide is not very helpful when you take medications
such as beta blockers, certain central alpha agonists (like clonidine), or
calcium channel blockers. Beta blockers reduce endurance exercise capacity by
lowering the heart rate, and through other effects. This characteristic is great
for women with both
and high blood pressure because it
allows exercise with reduced pain symptoms and lower blood pressure, resulting
in less stress on the heart.
There are some specific recommendations for certain blood pressure drugs.
If you use diuretics, it is important that you receive enough
to replace losses due to the drug and exercise.
Some vasodilator drugs can increase heart rates.
Because of the possible drug effects on heart rate, and the possibility of
miscalculation when you determine your training heart rate, using the perceived
exertion scale is a better way to go.
Always check with your health care provider before you exercise, especially when
you are taking medications, no matter what they are.