High blood pressure affects millions of people worldwide and remains one of the leading risk factors for heart disease and stroke. For years, many patients with hypertension have been told to stick with moderate exercise and avoid pushing themselves too hard out of concern that intense activity could place too much strain on the heart.
Now, new research suggests that this take on exercising with high blood pressure may be outdated. While prolonged high-intensity workouts could increase cardiovascular risks in some people, brief bursts of vigorous activity may actually be beneficial.
The findings, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, add to growing evidence that exercise recommendations for people with high blood pressure are due for an update.
“These findings underscore the potential need to reassess the evidence base for physical activity prescriptions to patients with hypertension, adopting a balanced approach that incorporates the full spectrum of activity intensities,” the study authors wrote in their article.
Is It Safe to Exercise With High Blood Pressure?
In most cases, people whose blood pressure is controlled through medication or lifestyle changes can safely stay active. In fact, regular physical activity is considered one of the most effective ways to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Many physicians traditionally recommend moderate-intensity exercise because it places less stress on the heart. However, researchers wanted to better understand whether exercise intensity itself — or the length of time spent exercising at that intensity — makes the biggest difference.
Exercise intensity is typically measured by heart rate during activity and can be monitored using most smartwatches and fitness trackers. Age is also factored into determining an individual’s maximum heart rate.
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What the New Study Found About Exercise Intensity
To investigate the role of intensity, researchers followed 38,960 adults with hypertension who wore accelerometers that recorded their daily movement patterns. Researchers grouped participants according to both exercise intensity and duration. They then tracked hospital records over eight years for heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure.
The results revealed an interesting pattern. Short bursts of vigorous exercise lasting up to one minute appeared to be safe and were linked to fewer cardiovascular events. Additionally, participants who accumulated several brief periods of intense activity experienced protective benefits.
However, extended sessions of high-intensity exercise lasting longer than 10 minutes told a different story. Researchers found that prolonged strenuous activity could trigger vascular stress and potentially damage artery walls, increasing the risk of stroke.
“Collectively, our findings show the critical importance of considering the interplay between activity intensity and bout length in the treatment of patients with high cardiovascular risk. Specifically, short bouts of high-intensity activity offer protective benefits against stroke, whereas prolonged bouts are a contributor to increased risk,” wrote the study authors.
What Types of Exercise Can People With High Blood Pressure Do?
Research continues to show that movement of almost any kind offers benefits for those with high blood pressure. According to another study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, aerobic exercise, such as walking, cycling, swimming, and jogging, consistently lowers blood pressure, while resistance training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) have also documented positive effects.
In that study, scientists reviewed clinical trials involving structured exercise programs lasting at least four weeks and found that combined aerobic and strength training, along with HIIT workouts, produced meaningful reductions in blood pressure throughout the day.
Overall, to lower your blood pressure and keep your heart healthy, experts recommend staying active as often as you can and choosing activities that are enjoyable enough to become long-term habits.
“Your blood pressure is lower on the days you exercise than when you don’t. That’s an acute exercise effect. It’s immediate,” researcher Linda Pescatello told UConn Today.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine: Impact of physical activity patterns on major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with hypertension
- This article references information from a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine: Effects of different exercise training modalities on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure in adults with hypertension: a network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
- This article references information from UConn Today: What to Know About Exercise as Medicine for High Blood Pressure
