Exercising with High Blood Pressure – What are the Dangers?

21 Mar Exercising with High Blood Pressure – What are the Dangers?

Exercises are a must if you want to take care of your overall health! But is it still useful if you have high blood pressure?

Some may find it hard to believe that exercising can have adverse effects on the body.

It’s not their fault; we have been made to believe that daily exercise can only have a positive impact on our health and wellness.

Nonetheless, we often don’t consider that the results of the exercise depend on the type and intensity as well.

Many people blindly follow any suggested exercise routine. That’s the biggest mistake one can make if they are dealing with any underlying disease.

High blood pressure is a major health concern these days because it is proven to be linked with many other health hazards.

Further, people living with high blood pressure primarily improve their diet and revamp their lifestyle which includes daily exercise.

However, not many people have a clear idea about the dangers of exercising with high blood pressure.

Now before you commit to stop exercising because of hypertension, it’s suggested to go through the complete blog and know the truth about whether is it dangerous to work out with high blood pressure for real.

Is It Dangerous to Exercise with High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure or hypertension is a serious health condition in which extra strain is put on the blood vessels and arteries. 

If this continues to happen, over time, the wall of the arteries hardens and this gives rise to other health issues like heart attack, and stroke. 

For most people struggling with high blood pressure, staying active is more of a boon than a bane. 

Nonetheless, the dangers of exercising with high blood pressure might be a little more significant for those with very high blood pressure.

To explain, doing physical activity increases the flow of blood and also heart rate. This is normal and nothing to be worried about. 

But when you have hypertension, vigorous exercise can take your blood pressure to a dangerous level.

This table might give you an idea of which blood pressure is ideal for what kind of exercise.

As demonstrated in the table, it’s perfectly fine to do a proper workout if you have normal blood pressure. 

Nonetheless, if you have high blood pressure, doing vigorous exercise without precautions may not be a good idea. 

Hypertension can have a major negative impact on your health and your unawareness about the dangers of exercising with high blood pressure might just add to your problems.

What Are The Dangers of Exercising with High Blood Pressure?

High Blood Pressure nearly affects 35% of the population and sadly, not many are aware of the fact that they have high blood pressure.

The reason could be anything, but is exercising with high blood pressure dangerous, is still something people want to know but fail to accept its answer.

Here are the two major dangers of exercising with high blood pressure level are:

#1. Cardiovascular Risk

Increased blood pressure is already associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases. 

According to various studies and investigations, high blood pressure is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases. It is a predominant risk factor for heart failure, and heart valve disease in addition to coronary heart disease and stroke. And the evidence is strong.

Therefore, those people who are already dealing with high blood pressure, need to be very vigilant about what exercises to do and how much.

As exercise increases blood pressure, doing vigorous exercise while you still have hypertension may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

#2. May Increase the Blood Sugar Levels in Diabetes Patients

According to the reports of a cross-sectional study of a population of 2092 Chinese individuals, higher fasting plasma glucose level was associated with a higher prevalence of increased blood pressure.

If you have diabetes and hypertension both, it’s crucial to be aware of your workout regime. Doing short-interval training triggers the liver to release stored glucose.

As a result, sometimes people who do high-intensity training might experience a rise in their blood glucose level immediately after the interval exercise.

Therefore, if you ask, is exercising with high blood pressure dangerous? The answer would be yes and no both.

To explain, the major dangers of exercising with high blood pressure depend on a lot of factors. This includes:

• Age
• Exercise intensity
• Blood Pressure Level (High, very high, dangerously high)
• Underlying health issues
• Type of exercise

In contrast to the above-mentioned points, the dangers of exercising with high blood pressure are less in comparison to the benefits.

Precisely, many scientific types of research have proven that exercising can help lower blood pressure. 

However, the twist is, what exercises to add and what to avoid while you have hypertension matters and makes all the difference. 

What Exercises to Avoid If You Have High Blood Pressure – Safety Tips

Research indicates people with high blood pressure must avoid doing strenuous exercises.

Adding to it, also avoid such workouts that put a lot of pressure in a short period of time. 

For instance try to avoid intense exercises, sprinting, and weightlifting.

Further, those with very high blood pressure or who are on medication must at all costs avoid such activities that increase the heart rate.

These activities include:

• Scuba diving
• SkyDiving
• Playing Squash
• paragliding

Though strength training like weight lifting might be good for your bone health and strength, it certainly is not good for your blood pressure.

Several research reports conclude weight lifting exercises produce extreme elevation of blood pressure.

These exercises include single-arm curls, overhead presses, and both double- and single-leg presses. Notably, the highest blood pressure peak was during the double-leg press.

Moving on, one cannot ignore the benefits of exercising on overall health. This also drags the attention toward the blood pressure improvement experienced by a large population after indulging in exercises. 

So, what kinds of exercises are not dangerous for high blood pressure people?

What Exercises Are Best for Those with High Blood Pressure?

Now that you know the Don’t of high blood pressure and exercise, let’s move your attention to the positive part and learn about do’s. 

Some types of exercises are not for hypertensive people. However, there are some exercises and physical activities that when included in the workout regime can help lower the raised blood pressure.

#1. High-Intensity Training

Don’t get scared by its name. 

High-intensity training exercises when done moderately can improve your blood pressure level. 

These claims are scientifically backed by much research data.

According to the American Journal of Cardiovascular Disease, HIIT may be more effective in preventing and controlling hypertension. 

Also, as per the American Journal of Hypertension, hyperintensity interval training appears to be safe and well-tolerated by most high-risk individuals.

#2. Resistance Training

Resistance training is yet another type of exercise with a positive effect on high blood pressure. 

Other research and meta-analysis reports, support the potential of dynamic training and isometric hand-grip training in lowering blood pressure. 

In fact, in comparison to dynamic training, handgrip training is more effective in reducing high BP.

#3. Aerobic Exercises

Aerobic exercises are considered the best type of training for everyone who is dealing with underlying health issues but is determined to stay active.

Jogging, walking, cycling, and rowing are some of the effective aerobic exercises that can be easily incorporated by anyone. 

In the case of high blood pressure, research studies the effects of aerobic exercises in reducing blood pressure in resistant hypertension. For this, hypertensives were encouraged to engage in aerobic exercises like walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling for 30-45 minutes daily. 

The results conclude aerobic exercises are effective in reducing blood pressure in resistant hypertension.

Further another meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials determine the effect of aerobic exercises on blood pressure.

After extracting the data, it was concluded that aerobic exercise was associated with a significant reduction in mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The results were positive on both hypertensive and normotensive persons.

The dangers of exercising when you have high blood pressure can be scary but not when you follow the rules.

Further, though these exercises are safe and scientifically proven, doing them vigorously can still affect your health.

How Much Should You Exercise If You Have High Blood Pressure?

The intensity and duration of the exercise depend entirely on your blood pressure level.

Nonetheless, in a study, 207 untreated subjects with stage 1 and 2 hypertension were analyzed with an 8-week exercise intervention. 

Subjects were further divided into 5 groups on the basis of the frequency of daily exercise. 

(sedentary control, 30 to 60 min/wk, 61 to 90 min/wk, 91 to 120 min/wk, and >120 min/wk).

In the end, there was no change in BP in the non-exercising group. However, the other 4 groups showed a significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic BP at rest.

So, all this while if you have been wondering if is it ok to walk with blood pressure, the answer is yes!

In another study, 2 groups of men and women attended an exercise program with 3 sessions per week with a total of 24 sessions.

Each session included 1 minute of exercise on a stationary bike with a pause of 2 minutes.

The cycle was repeated 10 times and at the end, around 73% of the patients achieved systolic pressures within normal range, without medication.

So, basically, you don’t need to do any vigorous exercise. Just 10 minutes of everyday workouts with proper intervals can let hypertensive people stay active without risking their health.

Additionally, if you’re doing HIIT, it’s recommended to conclude your workout program after 5-6 minutes. This table might give you a clearer picture of what exercises to do and how much.

NOTE:

If you have very high blood pressure and other underlying health complications as well, don’t start any workout regime without consulting your doctor.

Moving on, while keeping in mind what exercise to do and how much to do is great, some other helpful tips can be a great addition to your regime if you’ve hypertension.

Tips to Stay Active If You Have High Blood Pressure

Living with hypertension can easily take a toll on your overall health.

That too if you’re trying to stay active, it’s better to take some extra care of your health. 

Considering the fact that not everyone can easily walk and do much exercise, here are a few things that can be adopted by hypertensive patients who are /aren’t doing any exercises. 

#1. Try to eat light before you start working out.

#2. Keep yourself hydrated always.

#3. Restrict yourself a little extra while consuming caffeine and salty foods

#4. Quit smoking for your own good. 

#5. Set goals according to your body

#6. Consult a dietitian and also a certified trainer 

#7. Listen to your body

#8. Start slowly

Hypertension is no joke, but rather a serious illness that can be the root cause of other health hazards.

While staying active can be only beneficial, knowing the dangers of exercising with high blood pressure can prevent inconvenience, deliver better results, and save lives as well in some cases. 

Don’t let the dangers and risks of doing exercise with high blood pressure make you sick more than you’re. 

Keep your spirit high and not the blood pressure!