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High blood pressure and exercise: Why activity is key
High blood pressure and exercise are closely related. Learn how small changes in your daily routine can make a big difference.
The risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) increases with age. And like it or not, you get older every day. But you don't need to sit back and wait for high blood pressure to strike. Get moving! Regular exercise can help prevent high blood pressure, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. And if your blood pressure is already high, exercise can help you control it.
How Exercise Helps
How are high blood pressure and exercise connected? Regular physical activity makes your heart stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. And the less your heart has to work, the less force, or pressure, that's exerted on your arteries.
Becoming more active can lower your blood pressure by an average of 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). That's the same effect as some blood pressure medications. For some people, it's enough to reduce the need for blood pressure medication.
If your blood pressure is at a desirable level — less than 120/80 mm Hg — exercise can keep it from rising as you age. And there's more. Regular exercise also helps you maintain a healthy weight, another important way to control blood pressure.
The caveat? You need to keep it up. It takes about one to three months for regular exercise to have a stabilizing effect on blood pressure. The benefits last only as long as you continue to exercise.
What counts?
Flexibility and strengthening exercises are an important part of an overall fitness plan, but it takes aerobic activity to control high blood pressure. And you don't need to spend hours in the gym every day to benefit. Simply adding moderate physical activities to your daily routine will help.
Any physical activity that increases your heart and breathing rates is considered aerobic. Mowing the lawn, raking leaves or scrubbing the floor counts — as long as it takes effort. Other common forms of aerobic activity include climbing stairs, walking, jogging, bicycling and swimming.
Aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity most days of the week. If you can't set aside that much time at once, remember that shorter bursts of activity count, too.
ANYWAY, enough copying from sites...I just gave you that to make sure you are aware...the exercise is not hurting you bro, so don't worry there. If anything you can explain to these people that you are taking a VERY serious interest in lowering your blood pressure via exercise.
Salt is the worst thing to give up....seriously.
YOU try cooking w/out salt...tell me how THAT tastes...
Some days it seems that everything that you enjoy is horrible for you, doesn't it? Time to train the palate I guess. In the mean time, rest easy...you are trying your damnedest to beat it!
Chef Solon
hehe jk Great minds think alike. Just checking up on you to see how the BP's going, doll.... wishing you a wonderful friday. 