Study says this is the best type of exercise for lowering blood pressure
Some workouts may lower blood pressure more effectively than others.
Some workouts may lower blood pressure more effectively than others.
Some workouts may lower blood pressure more effectively than others.
It’s no secret that getting active can do wonders for your heart health. Now, new research finds that a specific kind of exercise may be better for lowering blood pressure than others.
A study published in the "British Journal of Sports Medicine" investigated how all different types of exercise impact blood pressure numbers. The study took data from 15,827 participants and looked at all kinds of workouts, including aerobic exercise training, dynamic resistance training, high-intensity interval training (also known as HIIT), and isometric exercise training. The researchers took participants’ blood pressure before the study and after participants exercised for at least two weeks. They also took the blood pressure of the control group.
Researchers found that isometric exercise was the most effective at lowering blood pressure. More specifically, performing isometric exercises over time was associated with on average a 8.24 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure and a 4 mmHg decrease in diastolic blood pressure.
This decrease was more than the 4.08 and 2.50 mmHg decreases seen with high-intensity interval training/HIIT, the 4.49 and 2.53 mm Hg decreases with aerobic-exercise training such as running or cycling, the 4.55 and 3.04 mm Hg with dynamic resistance or weight training, and the 6.04 and 2.54 mmHg decreases with combined aerobic and weight training.
Why is it important to lower high blood pressure?
Normal blood pressure is a maximum of 120/80, and as either number goes above that, that’s considered elevated, says Dr. Gregory Katz, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Heart and assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “The higher the blood pressure is, the higher the risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart disease.”
The higher that it’s up and the longer that it’s up means a higher total health risk too.
What is isometric exercise? And why is it best at lowering blood pressure?
Isometric exercise is any static exercise where you hold a muscular contraction without movement, as opposed to a dynamic exercise where the muscles are able to contract from their longest to their shortest lengths. Some examples referenced in this study include wall sits and planks.
There has been a consistent relationship between physical activity and lower blood pressure, says Katz. In this study, the results showed that all types of exercise lower blood pressure, and isometric resistance exercises were the best. But ultimately, there isn’t one type that is better than others, he said. “It’s less important what you do—exercise is good no matter how it comes.”
The best exercise is the one you like to do, says Katz. “Exercise only lowers blood pressure if you do it, so figure out what fits with your lifestyle, what you enjoy doing and what is something that can consistently be part of your life.” Be honest with yourself and if you hate exercise, stick with the exercise that you hate the least.
With that said, if you’re only focusing on weight training in the gym, you could likely benefit from adding some cardio to your routine, Katz notes.
Aside from exercise, how can I lower my blood pressure?
Relax
Stress management is really a big deal, says Katz. “People who are consistently stressed out will see their blood pressure go up, so figuring out ways of mitigating stress through meditation, therapy, or some other method of stress prevention is really important.”
Get substantial sleep
Sleep is also key, says Katz. “Being really vigilant about making sure that sleep is prioritized is good.” So, make sure you are getting enough sleep and high-quality sleep by keeping your room dark, not looking at screens right before bed, and if you snore, look into whether you might have sleep apnea.”
Ask your doctor if you need to cut down on salt
Some people are very responsive to salt consumption when it comes to blood pressure, says Katz, but this isn’t the case for everyone. There is certainly a subset of people that are very sodium-responsive and cutting down on salt is going to have a major impact on blood pressure, he explains. “But for some people, they can cut back on salt and see almost no change, so I always recommend people to do a trial [of eating less salty food] to see the impact.”
Discuss weight loss with your doctor if applicable
Lastly, Katz notes that if you’re overweight, losing some weight often has a big impact on blood pressure control.
The bottom line
It doesn’t take very much exercise and it doesn’t take exercising for a very long time to see an impact on blood pressure, says Katz. “Even a little bit can play a big role; if you’re doing nothing at all, going from nothing to a little bit is a really big deal,” he says. So, set reasonable goals and expectations for yourself, and don’t feel as though there is a really high bar that you need to meet.
And when it comes to your numbers, it’s important to know that you don’t feel mildly high blood pressure, says Katz. People can live for decades without knowing they have high blood pressure and the only way of knowing is by getting it measured (using a blood pressure monitor), he adds. “You can’t take control of your blood pressure if you don’t know where you’re starting from, and only through knowing your own numbers can you have a sense of what might need to be done.”