KEY POINTS

  • 1.13 billion people worldwide have hypertension
  • High BP is the leading cause of premature deaths
  • Simple lifestyle changes can help keep BP under control

Being the leading cause of premature deaths worldwide, high blood pressure affects about 1.13 billion people throughout the world. But estimates suggest that lesser than 1 in 5 people with hypertension have the condition under control. Since it can be a precursor to several deadly health conditions, it is high time that people get their blood pressure levels under control.

Blood pressure (BP) fluctuates throughout the day and night. But when it gets consistently too high, it is referred to as high blood pressure or hypertension. It implies that your heart has to put extra efforts to pump blood throughout your body and can lead to heart complications if you ignore your high blood pressure reading. Fortunately, certain simple lifestyle modifications can significantly lower your blood pressure reading.

Tip: Make morning exercise a habit

Regular physical activity is one key lifestyle measure that has been proven to reduce high blood pressure. Regular exercise improves your heart health and a healthier heart can pump more blood with less effort, said Mayo Clinic. When your heart can effortlessly pump blood, the force on your arteries reduces. This can help you achieve a lower blood pressure reading.

According to the healthy body, when one gets more active, the systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) gets reduced by about 4-9 mm Hg. And as indicated by Blood Pressure UK, the systolic blood pressure is the determiner of stroke or heart attack risk and is thereby more important than the diastolic blood pressure.

Such an improvement which is as good as the effect of blood pressure drugs is sufficient for some people. The HealthSite points out that exercise can help replace the need for blood pressure tablets.

A short burst of treadmill walking every morning can help control blood pressure

A study published in the Hypertension journal points out that morning exercise helps reduce blood pressure substantially when enhanced by light-intensity walking breaks during the prolonged sitting period. This is the first-ever study to highlight the potential of a combined approach of exercise and breaks in the resting period for blood pressure control among overweight/obese older adults.

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