The Mayo Clinic says aerobic exercise can lower and help control blood pressure, and that exercise makes your heart stronger. This pumps more blood, causing less stress on the arteries and lowering blood pressure. When you perform aerobic exercise, directly after you finish a healthy person's blood pressure should return to resting levels or may even drop below resting level, says Dr. Joel Braunstein.
Aerobic Exercise
According to the Mayo Clinic, aerobic exercise is necessary to control high blood pressure because blood pressure falls due to aerobic exercise. This is true after exercise as well; aerobic exercise can lead to reduced blood pressure directly after exercise. Anaerobic activities such as weightlifting can cause blood pressure to spike after exercising. According to the Mayo Clinic, the increase in pressure can be dramatic, depending on the amount of weight you lift.
Why Blood Pressure Falls after Aerobic Exercise
According to Dr. Len Kravitz, after exercise blood pools in the peripheral areas of the body. This causes systolic blood pressure to drop. These areas, such as the legs and arms, need more blood when they are working during exercise. Dr. Kravitz says diastolic pressure can drop during recovery from exercise because of vasodilation, the term for when the arteries expand and allow more blood to pass and pressure to be lowered.
Duration of Lowered Blood Pressure
Health Central says blood pressure normally increases with exercise. After stopping exercise, it should reduce to pre-exercise levels or fall a bit below pre-exercise levels. This should not happen immediately during exercise but upon stopping and over a period of about 10 minutes. The duration of this lowered pressure depends on medications, fitness levels and the length and type of exercise, Health Central says.
Warning Signs
Blood pressure that stays elevated for extended periods after stopping exercise can be a sign of cardiac risk, Health Central says. In addition, blood pressure that falls during exercise or immediately after can also be a warning sign for heart disease. Health Central says that if your heart rate falls by less than 13 beats per minute in the first minute after stopping exercise or if it drops by less than 42 beats in the first two minutes after stopping, you have an increased risk of dying from heart disease.
Types and Benefits of Aerobic Exercise
According to the Mayo Clinic, any physical activity that increases your heart and breathing rates is considered aerobic exercise. These activities can include sports, walking, jogging, running, swimming or even household chores such as mowing the lawn. Aerobic exercise can lower your blood pressure over a period of months by an average of 5mm to 10mm on each reading. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise can lower blood pressure, as can some blood pressure medications.
