Exercise has many benefits for our bodies--including weight loss, reduction in blood pressure, decrease in cholesterol and improved mood. Normally, blood pressure rises during exercise and then gradually decreases after exercise is ceased. In some individuals, blood pressure increases too much during exercise, a condition known as exercise hypertension. Exercise hypertension is considered a risk factor for elevated blood pressure at rest, although it is not largely understood why this occurs.
Blood Pressure Response to Exercise
Systolic blood pressure, or SBP, rises during exercise to accommodate the increased oxygen requirement by the muscles. Diastolic blood pressure, or DBP, typically remains the same or decreases slightly. The extent to which your blood pressure is raised depends on the type of activity. Rhythmic activities, like running, tend to increase blood pressure less than static activities, like weightlifting. During rhythmic activities, there is a constant alteration between contraction and relaxation of the muscles. When the muscles relax, blood flows to the peripheral tissues and blood pressure is reduced. Static activities, on the other hand, involve a continuous contraction of the muscles. Therefore blood is unable to flow from the vessels to the tissues, leading to an increase in blood pressure, according to San Diego State University.
Hypertensive Response to Exercise
Exercise hypertension may be defined as a: SBP greater than 220 millimeters of mercury, or mmHg, in men; SBP greater than 190 mmHg in women; DBP greater than 90 mmHg; or a DBP rise of greater than than 10 mmHg during exercise.
Studies
A study published in 2004 in the "American Journal of Hypertension" may shed some light on this issue. Researchers discovered that exercise hypertension may be related to a diminished ability of the blood vessels to dilate. This may be a result of arterial changes induced by long standing hypertension, aging, smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes and coronary artery disease. Elevated resting SBP was found to be the greatest risk factor in this study for exercise hypertension. There was no correlation between exercise blood pressure and cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, age, maximum heart rate or peak oxygen uptake during exercise.
Recommendation
If you have hypertension, chances are, you don't even know it. Most individuals with hypertension will experience no signs or symptoms, notes the Mayo Clinic, therefore it is advisable to get your blood pressure measured at a minimum of once every two years after the age of 20.
Warning
Stop exercise immediately and call your doctor if you experience dizziness, headache, blurred vision, chest pain or weakness.
References
- University of New Mexico: Exercise and Resting Blood Pressure
- San Diego State University: Cardiovascular Response to Exercise
- "Journal of the American College of Cardiology": Hypertensive Response to Exercise: A Potential Cause For New Wall Motion Abnormality in the Absence of Coronary Artery Disease
- "American Journal of Hypertension": Exaggerated Exercise Blood Pressure Is Related to Impaired Endothelial Vasodilator Function
- Mayo Clinic: Hypertension
