Lower Blood Pressure

Today we're going to be discussing simple at-home exercises that you can use to help with hypertension, a common medical condition and about 20% of the world's population has it. While there are many pharmaceutical approaches, we're always looking for ways to help lower blood pressure at home in an efficient manner. There are simple exercises you can do to help lower your blood pressure.

Taking specific approaches to hypertension has sprung up as a result of recent research that have looked at different methods. This is something that we've been discussing for over 20 years, but because of the pandemic one thing that happened is a lot of researchers started looking at it from a more targeted perspective. Over the last two years, we have seen an explosion of research looking into these specific strategies.

Now what I would love to do is spend about 35 minutes talking about the neurology behind why using isometric hand grip and breathing exercises can make a huge difference in hypertension. But today what I'm going to focus on is telling you what to do and then if you get interested you can read more about it or look into more information. So most of us are very aware that aerobic and anaerobic exercise can be beneficial for hypertension. Believe it or not for many years it was believed that aerobic exercise would lower blood pressure, but strength training would actually increase it. We now know that that is not true and so obviously one of the things we're always encouraging people with blood pressure issues to do is to exercise.

Regardless of the protocol used, whether it's a long slow endurance you know 30 to 60 Minutes at a low heart rate or interval training, the general decrease in blood pressure is helpful but it's not profound. So it's often not enough to tell people that just go out start walking if you can run do a little bit of running. It needs to be individualized to that person and that's probably one of the reasons why in the research we don't see huge drops in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

What I want to talk about today are two things that really do work and have in the latest meta review shown to be more effective in lowering blood pressure than standard exercise approaches. So the first thing we're going to talk about is hand grip training. So hand grip training is very simple the idea is that I'm going to squeeze and I'm going to hold the hand grip. Now this research concept actually began back in the 70s and 80s. In 1985 there was a study published looking at hypertension in different working populations and what they found was that people that worked regularly in a job that required moderate to heavy isometric exercise, meaning pressure without moving, had among the lowest incidence of hypertension. So this got researchers interested in saying that isometric exercise lower blood pressure.

The current practice now involves the utilization of hand grip training. Here's a simplified breakdown of what you need to do: Perform hand grip exercises at approximately 30 percent of your maximum voluntary contraction using a handheld dynamometer. These devices can be purchased for around $50 to $60. To start, determine your maximum grip strength by squeezing the dynamometer as hard as possible. Let's say you measure 150 pounds with your right hand. To follow the protocol for isometric hand grip exercises, you would perform the exercise at 30 percent of your maximum, which is 45 pounds in this case. Begin by squeezing the device until it reaches 45 pounds and hold that grip for two minutes. Monitor the dynamometer throughout the exercise. Afterward, relax for four minutes before repeating the process for a total of four rounds. This would result in eight minutes of isometric hand grip exercise, doing it twice for each hand.

Whenever we look into the literature on this this it will, over the course of six weeks, typically drop your systolic, which is the top number blood pressure, between 8 and 14 points and the lower diastolic by around six to eight points which is fantastic. That is actually comparable to many medications. Normally you have to do this three times a week so that's about 20 minutes. When you include the rest time 20 to 25 minutes three times a week, you can do it watching TV it's a fantastic tool for lowering blood pressure.

Another option available to us is to engage in breathing exercises. There are various types of breathing exercises that have been proven to be advantageous. The initial technique involves taking slow, deep breaths with a focus on exhaling. I suggest setting a timer and attempting to achieve a rate of six breaths per minute, with an emphasis on a prolonged exhalation. Research has shown that a longer exhale can help lower blood pressure. Typically, this involves inhaling for two seconds, holding for two seconds, and exhaling for six seconds, repeating the pattern. It is recommended to practice this breathing pattern for approximately five minutes per day. When performed consistently for five to seven days a week, individuals have observed a decrease of 20 points in systolic blood pressure and 10 points in diastolic blood pressure. While there are various breathing techniques available, these are the current strategies we endorse for utilizing breathing exercises.

Hypertension refers to individuals with an increased susceptibility to heart attacks, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and stroke. This can be managed conveniently at home, while engaging in various relaxing or other activities that can significantly reduce blood pressure. However, it is crucial to consult with your physicians prior to initiating any such practices. I trust you found this information beneficial.