When your have high blood pressure, you put extra strain on your heart and circulatory system. Pumping blood against the resistance of high blood pressure takes an effort, and eventually, a toll on your health. You might have elevated blood pressure and not even know it because it causes few initial symptoms. Medications help reduce elevated blood pressure, but cardiovascular exercise also lowers your elevated blood pressure or keeps blood pressure at normal levels to begin with.
Mechanics of Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the measure of how hard your heart must pump to delivery oxygen to your body and brain. Increased blood pressure results from narrowed clogged or hardened arteries and reactions to certain chemicals or hormones in your own blood stream. The more efficient and healthy your heart is, the easier it is for your heart to pump blood efficiently. Aerobic or cardiovascular exercise increases your blood pressure temporarily because you have an increased demand due to exertion. The long-term effects of cardiovascular exercise, though, are increased blood flow to muscles, lower blood pressure and increased cardiac and pulmonary function, according to MayoClinic.com and the American Heart Association.
Cardiovascular Exercise Function
Cardiovascular exercise improves your health in many ways, and one of the most important is lowering your blood pressure. The benefits of lowered blood pressure linger for hours after you finish exercising, according to the "Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine." Blood pressure lowers when your resistance to blood flow decreases. The improvement results in part from better blood flow to muscles and a decrease in catecholamines, which are hormones that circulate in the blood stream and increase blood pressure during times of stress in a "fight or flight" response, according to the "Primary Care Medicine."
Benefits
Lowering your blood pressure has major health benefits. When you reduce high pressure, or maintain a healthy blood-pressure level, you reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney damage and eventual heart failure, according to MayoClinic.com. Cardiovascular exercise improves your tolerance and endurance for exercise, and allows you to maintain strength and health as you age. Stress reduction is another benefit of cardiovascular exercise, and when you relax, your blood pressure will likely goes down as well.
Time Frame
You need at least 30 minutes of moderately intense cardiovascular exercise five times a week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Exercise takes up to three months before it affects your blood pressure, according to MayoClinic.com. Keep up the exercise, because when you stop, so do the benefits to your blood pressure.
Considerations
Check with a physician before you start on a new regimen of exercise if you have existing high blood pressure, a history of heart disease or heart attack. You also need to get a doctor's approval before exerting yourself if you are overweight or get dizzy or breathless after exercise. Certain conditions warrant blood-pressure medications in addition to aerobic exercise, so always ask your doctor whether you have any concerns. The efficacy of aerobic exercise in reducing blood pressure depends on your overall health and age.
References
- American Heart Association: Physical Activity
- MayoClinic.com: Exercise -- A Drug-Free Approach to Lowering HIgh Blood Pressure
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity and Public Health Guidelines
- "Primary Care Medicine: Office Evaluation and Management of the Adult Patient"; Allan H. Goroll, Albert G. Mulley; 2009
- UC San Diego: Health Library
- "Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, Volume 355"; Eric J. Topol, Robert M. Califf; 2007
