It’s true: Exercise is good for your heart. Now new research from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says there’s another reason to make it a habit–it could delay high blood pressure for up to a decade.
The research, which was co-authored by researcher Xuemei Sui, is one of the first to show exercise can delay the development of high blood pressure–not just lower blood pressure in general.
“A higher level of fitness can significantly delay this natural increase of blood pressure with age,” says Sui, who acts as an assistant professor in the department of exercise science at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. “For those with a high level of fitness, it will take almost [an additional] decade to develop early signs of high blood pressure.”
Basing their findings on heart health data collected from 14,000 men between 1970 and 2006, researchers first tracked their blood pressure and tested their fitness using a treadmill test. They found that their systolic blood pressure, or the amount of pressure in their arteries during a heartbeat, was too high in 46 year old men who did not seriously exercise. However, when they tested those who had high fitness levels at the same age, they found that their systolic blood pressure readings never reached this level. It did reach these levels when these men turned 54, however, suggesting that staying “highly active” could delay the development of high blood pressure.
On the contrary, those who had “low fitness levels” were more likely to develop high systolic blood pressure by the time they turned 42, according to researchers.
As for the reasons why this occurs, researchers aren’t sure–although they suspect exercise may help the body eliminate sodium more efficiently from the body, reducing levels of systolic blood pressure.
“There are so many things that are happening on a cellular level that we will probably never know why it works, but we become more efficient and stronger,” says Rani Whitfield, a spokesperson for the American Heart Association. “But so many factors influence blood pressure that I don’t think we’ll ever know that answer completely.”
What This Means For You
If you’re worried about your risk of high blood pressure, there’s now a simple way to delay it–by staying physically active. Those who stayed the most physically active were more likely to keep their blood pressure low, so if you aren’t already, make exercise a regular, if not daily, habit.
“It’s never too late to start, but always the earlier the better,” says Whitfield. “I would expect the higher fitness level will have a similar benefit for women, but there may be some other factors that influence this blood pressure/aging trajectory because there are some biological differences between men and women.”
Readers: How often do you exercise?
Source:
Exercise Delays Age-Related High Blood Pressure By a Decade – NewsMaxHealth.com
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