Cardiovascular exercise, also called aerobic exercise, involves the large muscles of your body, such as in the legs. The goal is to strengthen your heart and lungs, which assists in delivering more oxygen-rich blood to your muscles and the organs of your body. You should consult your doctor before beginning any exercise routine to determine how much and how intensely you can exercise for your blood pressure reading.
Benefits
Lack of exercise is a risk factor associated with many health issues, which include coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, obesity and elevated cholesterol. One of the benefits of cardiovascular exercise is maintaining a normal blood pressure or lowering your blood pressure, if it is not in the normal range. Regular exercise increases the strength of your heart and its ability to pump blood throughout your body with less effort, thus, lowering your blood pressure.
Normal
Blood pressure is reported as a two-number ratio with the systolic number, which measures pressure in your arteries when the heart beats, written over the diastolic number, which records the pressure in your arteries between heartbeats. For example, a blood pressure reading of 120/80 mmHg is read as "120 over 80." The American Heart Association records the following breakdown of blood pressure categories: readings less than 120 mmHg systolic and 80 mmHg diastolic are considered normal; systolic readings of 120 mmHg to 139 mmHg or diastolic pressures between 80 mmHg and 89 mmHg indicate prehypertension; any systolic reading above 140 mmHg or diastolic higher than 90 mmHg indicates a form of high blood pressure. Emergency medical intervention is needed for readings higher than 180 mmHg systolic or 110 mmHg diastolic.
Cardiovascular Exercise Effects
Rhythmic, repeated motion involving the large muscle groups causes an increased demand for oxygen. Since your blood carries oxygen to all parts of your body, your heart is challenged to supply the need. As oxygen is depleted through activity, your heart rate increases to meet the demand. Your systolic blood pressure slowly rises, but your diastolic reading will stay the same or slightly decrease. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center suggests one way to monitor cardiovascular changes is to measure your pulse rate. Your pulse rate will increase during activity and slowly return to normal when you stop exercising. As your fitness level increases, your pulse rate will normalize more quickly.
Frequency
The frequency and intensity recommendations for cardiovascular exercise will depend on your age, physical condition and other risk factors. Only your doctor can determine the safe limits for you. If you are a beginner, or if you have limited exercise options, you can break daily 30-minute routines three 10-minute sessions, if needed. It is, however, important to maintain an exercise routine in order to continue to reap the benefits and build cardiovascular health.
Types
Cardiovascular exercises cover a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities to help you reach or maintain a normal blood pressure. Indoor activities include equipment such as stationary bikes, rowing machines, treadmills and elliptical trainers. Outdoor activities include swimming, walking, jogging, running and bicycling. Many everyday activities fall into the category of aerobic exercise, such as lawn mowing, cleaning the floors and climbing stairs.
