Reducing Your Blood Pressure Through Exercise

Blood pressure is defined as the amount of pressure exerted by blood on blood vessel walls as it passes through the vessel.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, causes the heart to do extra work in order to pump blood throughout a person’s body and is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease such as stroke, heart failure, angina, renal failure, and myocardial infarction or heart attack. The recommendations for exercise for those with mild hypertension are generally the same as those for healthy adults.

Endurance, or aerobic, exercises are preferred, with a frequency of 3-5 days/week, duration of 20-60 minutes, and intensity of 60-85% of maximum heart rate. However for those with severe hypertension or markedly elevated blood pressure, the intensity should be lowered to about 50-70% of maximum heart rate. A person should exercise cautiously when performing any types of weight lifting, however, circuit training has been shown to result in a modest drop in blood pressure. Most people with hypertension will benefit from lifestyle modifications including dietary changes and weight loss to help manage the disease.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.