Exercise As Helpful As BP Meds?

How long has it been since you did your jumping jacks or sit ups? What about just a nice stroll around the block?

HealthDay Reporter, Robert Preidt, shares information on the benefits of exercise that is as helpful as blood pressure meds.  Hitting that gym may be very helpful in lowering your blood pressure numbers, and as effective as taking those meds.  There is evidence that combining endurance and dynamic resistance training is effective in reducing blood pressure, according to a new report.

It’s still too early to recommend that people get rid of their antihypertensive meds to exercise, said British researchers, as there’s not been a head-to-head trial of drugs versus exercise for blood pressure.  When comparing the numbers from hundreds of blood pressure trials involving exercise or meds, it suggests they have the same benefit according to the team led by Huseyin Naci, a health policy researchers at the London School of Economics and Political Science.  One U.S. expert said that exercise should be considered an “and” rather an “or” when treating high blood pressure.

A foundation of treatment for hypertension is exercise, but for patients requiring drug therapy, it is not a replacement, according to Dr. Guy Mintz of the cardiovascular health at Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.  The new research was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.  The team analyzed data from 197 clinical trials assessing the effects of structured workouts on lowering systolic blood pressure.  They also looked at data from 194 trials examining the impact of prescription drugs on blood pressure in nearly 40,000 people in the studies.

Blood pressure was lower in those treated with drugs than in those who did an exercise regimen, but for those with high blood pressure, exercise appeared just as effective as most drugs in lowering the blood pressure. The effectiveness of exercise against high blood pressure rose the higher the threshold that was used to define high blood pressure, or anything above 140 mm Hg.  Some exercise in the studies were endurance, such as walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming.  Some dynamic resistance, such as strength training with weights, isometric resistance, such as static push-ups, and a combination of endurance and resistance were others.

There were no studies in which exercise and blood pressure-lowering drugs were compared directly, and the number of people in some of the studies was relatively small.  For now, people aren’t advised to replace blood pressure meds with exercise, so keep taking this antihypertensive meds.  For cardiovascular disease, any exercise is shown to improve how long one lives and also lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes, as noted by Dr. Satjit Bhusri, a cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Patients are advised to adhere to the current exercise guidelines in the U.S. of performing moderate exercise of 150 minutes per week or vigorous exercise for 75 minutes per week.  Exercise alone will not be enough to control their blood pressure, and that’s where medication comes in.  Continue those meds even if you are involved in a regular aerobic exercise program, unless otherwise advised by your doctor.

Dr Fredda Branyon