High blood pressure, also referred to as hypertension, affects 74.5 percent of American adults, according to the American Heart Association. High blood pressure occurs when vascular scarring or weakness, plaque buildup, blood clots, or damaged arteries interfere with your blood flow and circulation. High blood pressure increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and brain and heart damage. Different exercises may help lower your blood pressure.
Cardio
Regular exercise helps lower and control your blood pressure. Additionally, it reduces your chance of becoming overweight or obese, decreases your stress levels and strengthens your heart and lungs. Cardiovascular exercise strengthens your heart, a muscle that becomes stronger and more efficient because of exertion. Jogging, hiking, swimming and cycling are all forms of cardiovascular exercise that require minimal equipment and strengthen your heart. The stronger your heart, the less it has to work to pump blood throughout your body. Talk to your doctor about any cardiovascular limitations or contraindications due to your high blood pressure. Getting medical clearance to exercise helps prevent injury.
The AHA recommends doing moderately intense cardiovascular exercise for 150 minutes each week. For example, do 30-minute cardio sessions five times a week. Moderately intense cardio means that you can say a few short sentences to your workout partner but are working too hard to sing or engage in a conversation.
Yoga
Yoga is a form of mind-body exercise that uses breathing and poses to strengthen your muscles, induce relaxation and lower your stress levels, according to Yoga Journal's website. Yoga relaxes your muscles and elongates them. Relaxation exercises trigger your body's parasympathetic response, one response of your body's autonomic nervous system, reports Michigan State University's Olin Health Center. The other response, your sympathetic or "fight vs flight" response, causes increases in your heart rate, blood pressure, sweat glands and adrenaline. Activating your parasympathetic response relaxes these same systems and lowers your blood pressure, reports Olin Health Center.
Tell your yoga instructor about your high pressure before taking a class. She will inform you of any modifications or poses that you should skip. Poses that require an isometric contraction or that challenge a muscle without lengthening it may cause spikes in blood pressure. Contraindicated poses listed on Yoga Journal's website include the camel pose, frog pose, high lunge pose and plow pose.
Flexibility Exercises
Flexibility or stretching exercises help relax and lengthen tight muscles. The AHA recommends incorporating flexibility exercises into your workout routine to promote heart health and healthy blood pressure. Performing the stretches in a relaxing, quiet environment helps you focus and pay attention to your body. High blood pressure reduces blood flow throughout your body; stretching improves circulation and may help increase blood distribution to your muscles.
Doing stretches for each part of your body ensures that you relax most of your major muscle groups. Incorporate chest, lower back, legs, neck and arm stretches into your flexibility routine. To do a seated hamstring stretch, sit on the floor and extend your legs in front of you, directly next to each other. Sit up straight and lift your arms in front of your body. Bending at your waist, lower your torso toward your legs while reaching your hands toward your toes. Stop when you feel a stretch in the back of your thighs. Hold for 45 seconds.
References
- American Heart Association: Physical Activity and Blood Pressure
- American Heart Association: About High Blood Pressure
- Harvard Health Publications: Yoga for Anxiety and Depression
- Olin Health Center: The Fight or Flight Response to Stress
- Thomas College: Cardiovascular Fitness
- Yoga Journal: Contraindications for High Blood Pressure
