Exercise and hypertension – are the two connected in any way? In this article, I’ll show you how exercise can actually both raise and lower your blood pressure.
Immediate Effects Of Exercise
When you exercise, the heart and blood system go into overdrive. Because your muscles are working harder then they need more fuel in the form of oxygen. Oxygen is delivered via the blood system so your heart rate goes up.
Because your heart beats faster this puts a greater strain on your blood system. Basically, your blood pressure goes up.
So does this mean that exercise is bad for hypertension? Not at all.
The Benefits Of Exercise To Lower Your Blood Pressure
The human body is incredibly “elastic” and can cope with many different conditions for short periods. Obviously, you cannot exercise for 24 hours a day. So the temporary increased blood pressure is not harmful to you.
On the contrary, exercise actually widens your arteries over time and prevents them from constricting. This means that your blood pressure will actually decrease with time.
So you can see that exercise is actually good for defeating hypertension, in fact it is one of the best ways to lower blood pressure.
Do You Have To Work Hard?
Studies have shown that you don’t need to push very hard to get the benefits of exercise in reducing your blood pressure. Even low intensity exercise is better than none at all. It is also a good idea to do cardiovascular exercise e.g. fast walking, jogging – rather than strength training.
You can find out more about blood pressure exercise and how it can help you lower your blood pressure in Blood Pressure Truth.
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