EXERCISE, HYPERTENSION AND LONGEVITY

This article discusses the benefits of exercise in people with hypertension.

Exercise is strongly recommended in patients with hypertension, mainly due its effects on in lowering blood pressure. The average reduction in systolic blood pressure resulting from aerobic exercise is approximately 5-8 mmHg in patients with hypertension, while from muscle strengthening activity (weight training) by 4-5 mmHg.

Arterial Pressure, Arterial Pressure, Health, Exercise, Health, Sport, Longevity, Longevity, Longevity, Exercise, Fitness

Although the evidence is not definitive, it has been shown that the combination of aerobic physical activity and muscle strengthening activity may be superior to aerobic physical activity alone or muscle strengthening activity alone for lowering blood pressure in patients with hypertension, although both aerobic physical activity and muscle strengthening activity have been shown to improve the chances of mortality in patients with hypertension.

A recent study investigated the associations of adherence to guidelines for both aerobic physical activity (≥500 METs-min/week) and muscle strengthening activity (≥2 days/week) with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in 9413 patients with hypertension and 25,577 subjects without hypertension, with a mean follow-up period of 9.2 years.

It was found that people who did only aerobic physical activity as well as those with a combination of aerobic activity and muscle strengthening had a lower risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease than those who had neither aerobic physical activity nor muscle strengthening activity in patients with hypertension. Similar trends were observed in patients with hypertension regardless of the use of antihypertensive medication.

Among people without hypertension, only those who combined aerobic activity and muscle strengthening had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.

Interestingly, the findings of this study also suggest that the combination of aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity has greater benefits in terms of risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in patients with hypertension, regardless of the use of antihypertensive medication, and that the predictive benefit of exercise is greater in patients with hypertension than in patients without hypertension.

Arterial Pressure, Arterial Pressure, Health, Exercise, Health, Sport, Longevity, Longevity, Longevity, Exercise, Fitness

It has been postulated that muscle strengthening activity may have beneficial effects on all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality, improving both traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Weight training has been shown to improve not only blood pressure but also other traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors, including glycaemia, lipids and body composition (increased lean body mass, decreased body fat percentage and decreased total fat mass) and to prevent the onset of diabetes.

Muscle strengthening has also been shown to improve non-traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors—improving cardiorespiratory capacity, endothelial function and sleep quality and reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Greater skeletal muscle mass in older people is independently associated with better physical performance, mobility and prevention of traumatic falls, which are a major cause of chronic disability and loss of independence. Therefore, muscle strengthening is highly important and recommended for older adults to maintain greater skeletal muscle mass, mitigate age-related decline in physical performance and prolong functional independence. These beneficial effects of muscle-strengthening activities may provide additional benefits on total and cardiovascular disease mortality in patients with hypertension.

Arterial Pressure, Arterial Pressure, Health, Exercise, Health, Sport, Longevity, Longevity, Longevity, Exercise, Fitness

Studies have also shown that dose-response associations of weight training with mortality and cardiovascular disease are curvilinear, with maximum benefit occurring at 30-60 minutes per week, suggesting that excessive muscle strengthening activity is not necessary to reap the health benefits of muscle strengthening activities.

In addition, muscle strengthening activities may be safe for adults who can perform aerobic physical activity in terms of cardiovascular complications.

In conclusion, we can say that muscle strengthening activities in addition to aerobic physical activity are highly recommended for patients with hypertension because of their prognostic advantages and safety. Muscle strengthening physical activities at least two days per week, in addition to aerobic physical activity, can further keep the doctor away in patients with hypertension.

-Suprastratum: The authority on health, fitness and nutrition

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Author: Nick Krontiris

Founder, Suprastratum

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  1. Pingback: Hypertension: Strategies for Healthy Blood Pressure - Suprastratum

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