Hypertension is a chronic vascular condition that has long-term effects on heart and blood vessel health. Pullups are a strenuous, muscular exercise that may lead to increased high blood pressure symptoms, and should thus be avoided if you have this condition.
Hypertension Mechanism, Consequences and Treatment
According to the Mayo Clinic, hypertension is defined as an arterial blood pressure greater than 140/90mmHg. Hypertension is a common consequence of the condition known as atherosclerosis, the accumulation of plaque and fat within your arterial walls. These lesions eventually narrow the arterial diameter, restricting blood flow to vital organs including the heart, brain and kidneys. The circulatory system responds by increasing the intravascular pressure to provide adequate force to perfuse these organs. The result is a chronically elevated blood pressure, which has a number of negative consequences. These include heart attack, stroke, heart failure and aneurysm. According to the 2004 American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand, ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers are the drug of choice for recreational athletes with hypertension.
Effect of Exercise on Blood Pressure.
Overall, exercise is highly effective for reducing chronic hypertension. Aerobic exercise helps strengthen your heart and prevents the restriction of blood flow to vital organs, which precedes the development of hypertension. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular aerobic exercise has been shown to lower your systolic blood pressure an average of 5mmHg to10mmHg.
Applications
Performing strenuous exercise leads to dramatic, acute elevations in blood pressure. Pullups require you to flex the muscles in your arms as you hold them over your head; the combination of these two actions increases pressure within your arteries. Working skeletal muscle initiates several physiologic adaptations, including increased blood flow though the capillary beds of contracting muscles. Additionally, the increased activity of skeletal muscle cells during strenuous exercise increases oxygen demands of this tissue. Both increase blood perfusion requirements of the arms, placing a greater pumping burden on the heart and leading to a further increase in pressure.
Complications of Acute Elevations in Blood Pressure
Sudden increases in blood pressure may have a number of serious consequences, including aneurysm formation, stroke or heart attack. Aneurysms form in the walls of arteries that have been weakened by atherosclerosis and elevated intravascular pressures. Pullups may produce rapid increases in blood pressure, leading to ballooning or even rupture of major blood vessels.
References
- "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise: American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand: Exercise and Hypertension; 2004
- MayoClinic.com: High Blood Pressure; Mayo Clinic Staff; August 2010
- MayoClinic.com: Exercise, A drug-free approach to lowering high blood pressure"; Mayo Clinic Staff; August 2010
