Control Your Blood Pressure By Regular Exercise
In the area of self help health a common topic is the understanding of blood pressure and it’s role in your overall health.
Blood pressure pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries.It is greatest when your heart beats, pumping the blood. This is known as systolic pressure, but when your heart is resting in between beats, your blood pressure falls which is reffered to as diastolic pressure.
regrettably, as we age our chances suffering from high blood pressure increases. It is one of the most common chronic medical complaints, affecting approximately one in three people, but is not a disease in itself but an aggrevating factor. High blood pressure acts like a catalyst with certain conditions and can make the patients illness worse if left untreated. People who are at most risk are those that are overweight, drink alcohol or are over fourty years old. A sedentary lifestyle is also a major factor in fact people who are less active and less physically fit have a 30 to 50 percent greater frequency of high blood pressure. High blood pressure that isn’t properly treated may lead to heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke or even premature death.
Various things can affect blood pressure from how much water and salt you have in your system, the health of your kidneys, nervous system, or blood vessels, and hormones. It can affect all groups of people but you have an increased risk of high blood pressure if you have a family history of the condition, it is also tends to be more common in African Americans than Caucasians, but very often there is no specific cause. In this case it is called essential hypertension. If a particular condition is present such as a habit, or medication then it is called secondary hypertension.
The insidious thing about high blood pressure is that many people who have high blood pressure feel no ill effects and are totally unaware that they have the condition. Only about half of the people in this country who have high blood pressure are aware they have it and of those who know they have it, only about 50% are being treated for it and of those who are being treated, only half actually have their blood pressure under control. If left undetected this may contribute to a stroke or heart attack in later years. By this time it is too late to reverse the harm even if the blood pressure treatment is started. Modern living can lead many people to become obese and suffer from stress and these two conditions can lead to the onset of high blood pressure or hypertension as it is also referred to.
Although high blood pressure can be treated with self help medical knowledge it is always best to seek medical advice, and get your blood pressurecheckedif you think that you may have a problem with your blood pressure. The good news, however, is that there are ways of of reducing blood pressure naturally. A few simple changes in lifestyle can help combat high blood pressure. These include a schedule of moderate exercise and even a diet that contains foods that lower blood pressure.
If your blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg then exercise can prevent it from rising as you get older. Physical exercise will make your heart stronger and a stronger heart will work more effectively. In fact by exercising frequently you can lower your blood pressure by 10mm Hg and even low levels of regular exercise should help reduce blood pressure and improve your overall health.
Although self help fitness regimes that encourage suppleness and strength training exercises are important, what is required is aerobic activity in order to control high blood pressure. But this does not require you to be at the gym every day, just by carrying out moderate exercise in your day to day life will be a good start. Moderate exercise should mean working up a slight sweat and getting slightly out of breath.
Aerobic exercise can be considered to be any physical activity that increases your heart rate and breathing. Aerobic exercise is consistent physical activity using large muscle groups. This exercise strengthens the heart and lungs and helps the body’s capacity to use oxygen. Over time, aerobic exercise can help decrease your heart rate and blood pressure and improve your breathing. This could include such diverse activities as mowing the lawn, sweeping the drive way, climbing stairs and of course cycling, swimming or just walking. You should consider walking for half an hour every day in order to derive the required benefits. But if you are unable to set aside even this small amount of time remember that shorter bursts of exercise will help aswell.
If you are new to exercising remember to start slowly in order to reduce the risk of injury. It is a good idea to try some light warm up exercises before you begin your proper exercise regime and cool down afterward. Stretching the arms and legs before and after exercising helps prepare the muscles for activityand helps prevent muscle strain. Stretching also increases your range of motion and flexibility. Build up the intensity of your workoutsslowly over time.
If you’d like to try strength training or other resistance exercises, make sure you have your doctor’s agreement. Some of these exercises may raise your blood pressure — especially if you hold your breath while contracting your muscles.
Stop exercising and get immediate medical attention if you have any of these warning signs:
Tightness or pain in the chest
Feeling dizzy or faint
Pain in an arm or your jaw
Extreme shortness of breath
Irregular heartbeat
Taking regular light or moderate exercise can lessen the risk of premature death by a dramatic amount. make a commitment to become more active. If you already have high blood pressure, are obese, have diabetes, or are a smoker - then you must get more exercise. Your life may rely upon it!
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