Exercise and Hypertension

Ibsen Alexandre of BodyBuzz Fitness LLC (05/28/2008)

It seems as though many Americans are living a life that leads to high blood pressure or hypertension.

As people age, the situation gets worse. Nearly half of all older Americans have hypertension. This disease makes people five times more prone to strokes, three times more likely to have a heart attack and two to three times more likely to experience a heart failure.

The problem with this disease is that nearly one-third of the folks who have hypertension do not know it because they never feel any direct pain. But over time the force of that pressure damages the inside surface of your blood vessels.

However, according to experts, hypertension is not predestined. Reducing salt intake, adopting a desirable dietary pattern, losing weight and exercising can all help prevent hypertension.

Obviously, quitting bad habits and eating a low-fat diet will help, but the most significant thing that you can do is exercise. And just as exercise strengthens and improves limb muscles, it also enhances the health of the heart muscles.

Heart and Exercise

A heart attack or “myocardial infarction” is a condition in which the myocardium or the heart muscle does not get enough oxygen and other nutrients and so it begins to die, damaging an area of the heart. Exercise can actually stimulate the development of new connections between impaired and nearly normal blood vessels, so people who exercise have a better blood supply to all the muscle tissue of the heart.

For this reason, after a series of careful considerations some researchers have observed that exercise can stimulate the development of these life saving detours in the heart. One study further showed that moderate exercise several times a week is more effective in building up these auxiliary pathways than extremely vigorous exercise done twice as often.

Such information has led some people to think of exercise as a panacea for heart disorders, a fail-safe protection against hypertension or death. That is not so. Even marathon runners have suffered hypertension, and exercise cannot overcome combinations of other risk factors.

What Causes Hypertension?

Sometimes abnormalities of the kidney are responsible. There is also a study wherein the researchers identified more common contributing factors such as heredity, obesity and lack of physical activity. So what can be done to lower blood pressure and avoid the risk of developing hypertension? Again, exercise seems to be just what the doctor might order.

If you think that’s what your doctor might tell you, then why not study this list and find some ways you can incorporate these things into your lifestyle, so you can start to live a life free from the possibility of developing hypertension. But before you start following these systematic instructions, it would be better to review them first before going into action.

1. See your doctor

Check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program. If you make any significant changes in your level of physical activity — particularly if those changes could make large and sudden demands on your circulatory system — check with your doctors again.

2. Take it slow

Start at a low, comfortable level of exertion and progress gradually. The program is designed in two stages to allow for a progressive increase in activity.

3. Know your limits

Determine your safety limit for exertion. Use some clues such as sleep problems or fatigue the day after a workout to check on whether you are overdoing it. Once identified, stay within it. Over-exercising is both dangerous and unnecessary.

4. Exercise regularly

You need to work out a minimum of three times a week and a maximum of five times a week to get the most benefit. Once you are in peak condition, a single workout a week can maintain the muscular benefits. However, cardiovascular fitness requires more frequent activity.

5. Exercise at a rate within your capacity

The optimum benefits for older exercisers are produced by exercise at 40% to 60% of capacity.

Indeed, weight loss through exercise is an excellent starting point if you want to prevent hypertension. Experts say that being overweight is linked to an increased risk of developing hypertension, and losing weight decreases the risk. Start taking care of yourself now before it’s too late.