- Exercise may be just as good or better than medication to lower high blood pressure, experts say.
- Specific exercises, such as jogging, weight lifting and yoga, work best for certain groups.
- Here’s how to exercise to get the best benefits for your personal blood pressure range.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Exercise can be just as good or better than taking medication to improve your blood pressure, especially if you choose the right kind of exercise, the evidence suggests.
Specific types of exercise can benefit different groups of people based on their blood pressure, according to recommendations published on March 23 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Researchers from more than a dozen medical institutions around the world, including the University of Oxford and the University of Connecticut, made the recommendations based on the latest evidence on heart health and exercise.
These are the first specific exercise recommendations based on high quality research intended to help people lower their blood pressure. High blood pressure affects more than one billion people worldwide and is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and premature death.
For high blood pressure, do aerobic exercises such as walking, running or cycling
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is defined as anything above 140/90 mmHg. People who are already at this level can benefit most from aerobic training, researchers have found.
This is often called cardio exercise, it includes movements that increase your heart rate and your breathing harder, including running, swimming and cycling.
Lower intensity exercise such as walking and jogging are also included in this category.
The researchers found evidence that these exercises can work as well or better than any medication for the treatment of high blood pressure, said Dr. Henner Hanssen, head of preventive sports medicine at the University of Basel in Switzerland, said in a press release.
Try movements such as squats, push-ups and lightweights for blood pressure in the normal normal range
Slightly elevated blood pressure is defined between 130-139 / 85-89 mmHg.
People in this group should give preference to dynamic resistance exercises, or strength movements that involve multiple major muscle groups simultaneously.
This can include bodyweight exercises, such as in a push-up or air pressure, as well as weight-lifting movements such as front squats, back squats, dead lifts and presses.
To maintain normal blood pressure, do boarding, yoga and wall sitting
For people who already have normal blood pressure (less than 120/80 mmHg) and want to maintain it, isometric resistance exercise is the best method.
This includes exercises that require you to have a muscle contraction. Some examples include a plank, a static lung or a wall chair. Many yoga movements, such as chair post or bridge post, are also isometric.
Exercise every day for best results
To get the most out of these movements for heart health, experts recommend adding a little exercise to your daily routine.
That doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon every day or spend hours in the gym. Even a little movement, such as a short walk or a short power measurement, has benefits.
“For most exercises, the blood pressure lowering effect lasts about 24 hours, similar to medication, so it is best to be active every day if possible,” Hanssen said.