I doubt it will come as much of a surprise to anyone reading this that regular exercise helps lower blood pressure and avoid or control hypertension. Old news, right? But you may not be aware of just how great the benefit to your health might really be.
Regular physical activity makes your heart stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. As a result, the force on your arteries decreases, lowering your blood pressure. Becoming more active can lower both your top and bottom blood pressure numbers. How much lower isn't entirely clear, but studies show reductions from 4 to 12 mm Hg diastolic (bottom #) and 3 to 6 mm Hg systolic (top #). That is as much as some commonly used hypertension medications.
High blood pressure can lead to a vast number of serious health consequences over time including: heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, vision loss and dementia.
A 2021 study by researchers in Portugal and published in JAMA Cardiology sheds some light on just how significant the benefit of exercise can be. Sixty participants aged 40 to 75 years with a diagnosis of drug resistant hypertension were enrolled and observed at hospitals' hypertension outpatient clinics. Half of the participants exercised on a stationary bicycle and/or walked daily for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks blood pressure had fallen enough to lower the risk of heart attack or stroke an average of 25% for those who exercised compared with those who did not.
If you are getting some exercise every day, keep it up. If you aren't, what are you waiting for? A stroke?
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