Exercise
Will Lower Your Blood Pressure
A
message for all couch-potatoes
Researchers
who reviewed more than 50 studies on the effects of exercise on
blood pressure
have a message for all couch-potatoes out there: Get moving.
Whether
you are overweight or trim, have hypertension or normal blood
pressure, engaging in regular exercise such as walking, cycling,
jogging or swimming can help lower your blood pressure and your
subsequent risk of heart attack and stroke.
The
review of 54 clinical trials involving 2,419 previously sedentary
adults concluded that regular exercise decreased systolic blood
pressure--the upper number in a blood-pressure reading--by an
average of 4 mm of mercury (mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure,
the bottom number, by an average of 2.6 mm Hg.
Even
a small reduction in the overall population's average blood
pressure level should dramatically reduce the morbidity and
mortality of heart disease and stroke in the US general
population.
The
new findings offer more evidence that exercise is important both
for treating high blood pressure and preventing the condition from
developing in healthy people, he said.
In
addition to the cardiovascular risks, high blood pressure also can
damage the kidneys, eyes and brain. Blood pressure is considered
elevated if the reading is 140/90 or higher.
Statistics
show that about
25% of US adults have high blood pressure and up to 30% are
sedentary. While
the study did not identify an ideal amount of exercise for
lowering blood pressure, results showed that a variety of types of
aerobic exercise at all frequencies were beneficial to people who
were previously sedentary. In other words, some activity was
better than none.
US
health officials advise that people aim to get at least 30 minutes
of moderate exercise on 5 or more days a week. Annals
of Internal Medicine April 2, 2002;136:493-503
DID
YOU KNOW?
Each
pack of cigarettes sold in the United States costs the nation
$7.18 in medical care and lost productivity, the government said.
The study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
put the nation's total cost of smoking at $3,391 a year for every
smoker, or $157.7 billion.
By
referring your friends and colleagues to Diabetes in Control you
can win a free scholarship or expense check for the 2002 AADE
conference in Philadelphia.
http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/scholorship.shtml
Back /
Next Item
