A new study reveals a simple way to prevent high blood pressure!
The study published in the journal Circulation revealed that even a few minutes of exercise may improve your blood pressure.
Lead study author Dr. Jo Blodgett, senior research fellow at the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Health at University College London said in a statement, “Incorporating even a few minutes of higher-intensity physical activities like brisk walking or cycling into daily routines can make a difference for (blood pressure) levels.”
Researchers reviewed data from almost 15,000 individuals who wore activity trackers and had their blood pressure regularly monitored.
The study categorized the day’s activities into six types, sleep, sedentary behaviour, slow and fast walking, standing and vigorous exercise.
Researchers used this data to determine the effects of replacing sedentary time with other activities.
As per the results, adding just five minutes of exercise per day was linked to lower blood pressure, and increasing exercise by 10 to 20 minutes led to a clinically significant improvement, a reduction of 2mmHg in systolic blood pressure or 1mmHg in diastolic blood pressure.
Dr. Susan Cheng, professor and vice chair of research in the department of cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute said in an email, “The study offers some very detailed information on the fact that even though most of us (are) relatively inactive for most of the day, even small changes can make a big difference.”
She further said that clinically meaningful changes in blood pressure can mean reduced risk for heart disease and stroke.
