Exercising regularly makes your muscles stronger, including your heart. When your heart is strong, it pumps more blood during exercise with less effort. This reduction in effort helps lowers blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 millimeters of mercury, commonly abbreviated mm Hg. The medical term for high blood pressure is hypertension; low blood pressure is hypotension. An individual with either of these health conditions should get approval from her doctor before beginning any exercise program.
Blood Pressure Basics
A sphygmomanometer is the medical instrument commonly used to measure arterial blood pressure. It gives a reading that reveals your systolic and diastolic pressures. The reading is presented in a format that looks like a fraction. The systolic pressure is the top number in a blood pressure reading and represents the maximum pressure in your aorta, the largest artery in your body, the Cardiovascular Physiology Concepts website explains. The diastolic pressure is the bottom number and represents the lowest pressure in the aorta when the heart rests.
Exercise Testing
The response of your arterial blood pressure during exercise indicates and predicts heart conditions, according to research published in the February 2011 issue of the journal "Annals of Medicine." The report explains having an exaggerated blood pressure during exercise is an indicator of future high blood pressure. An extensive rise in systolic pressure during exercise shows an increased risk for heart attack and cardiovascular death. A systolic blood pressure reading that is too low during exercise is an indicator for a dysfunction in your left ventricle, inadequate heart output and severe heart disease.
Block Increases with Medication
People with hypertension can block the dangerous blood pressure increases that occur during exercise with blood pressure medications known as angiotensin receptor blockers, according to research reported in the March 2011 issue of the "Journal of Physiology." Those with high blood pressure experience a decrease in the amount of blood flow to and oxygen in the muscles during exercise. This may cause the abnormal rise in blood pressure seen in hypertensive patients, researchers concluded in a finding that could lead to discoveries allowing those with hypertension to exercise more safely.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the major causes of death in young athletes, seemingly in good health, who die during heavy exercise. The condition manifests as an asymmetrical thickening of the heart muscle, which forces the heart to work harder to get blood out. Patients diagnosed with this condition who exhibit high-risk symptoms, including a drop in blood pressure during exercise, may need an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator to shock their heart into action when it stops --- which, the PubMed Health website notes, may help them avoid sudden death.
References
- Cardiovascular Physiology Concepts; Arterial Blood Pressure; Richard E. Klabunde, Ph.D.; May 29, 2007
- EurekAlert!; Dangerous Blood Pressure Increases During Exercise Can Be Blocked , UT Southwestern Researchers Find; April 5, 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Exercise: A Drug-Free Approach to Lowering Hypertension; Aug. 5, 2010
- "Annals of Medicine"; Blood Pressure Responses During Exercise Testing --- Is Up Best for Prognosis?; J.A. Laukkanen and S. Kurl; Feb. 24, 2011
- PubMed Health; Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy; May 17, 2010
