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- Developed in the 1980s, this exercise can be practiced at home, in front of the TV, in five minutes.
- It is more effective than active walking and some aerobic exercise, and the results are comparable to those of antihypertensive drugs.
According to Public Health France, high blood pressure (HTA) affects more than a third of French people, half of whom are unaware of their condition and therefore do not receive treatment. However, high blood pressure can have serious consequences. High blood pressure on the walls of the arteries can cause them to harden and cause premature aging, putting them at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease, especially heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.
To lower blood pressure, there are a number of treatments that work differently for high blood pressure. It is also advisable to pay attention to your diet and physical activity.
According to a study published in Journal of the American Heart AssociationThe breathing exercise called “appetite muscle strength training” can lower blood pressure by doing it for five minutes a day. According to the study authors, the results were as compelling, if not more so, than aerobic exercise or medication.
“We know that there are many lifestyle strategies that can help people maintain their cardiovascular health as they age. But the truth is that they take a lot of time and effort, and can be expensive and difficult to implement. And they can be implemented for some people” says Daniel Craighead, author of the work. The benefit of this exercise, he says, is the ability to “Made in five minutes, at home, while watching TV“.
Significantly lower systolic blood pressure
Developed in the 1980s to help patients with acute respiratory disease strengthen the diaphragm and other inspiratory muscles, this exercise involves inhaling forcefully through a wearable device that provides resistance.
Initially, when prescribing this technique for respiratory diseases, doctors recommended a low-resistance regimen of 30 minutes a day. Professor Craighead and colleagues are now investigating whether a faster regimen (30 powerful inhalations per day, 6 days per week) can also improve cardiovascular, cognitive and physical functioning.
To find out, they recruited 36 healthy adults ages 50 to 79 with a systolic blood pressure above normal (120 mm Hg or higher). Half of them followed a six-week high-resistance exercise program, while the other half followed a low-resistance placebo diet.
The results showed that systolic blood pressure in the first group fell by an average of 9 points, a greater reduction than that achieved by walking for 30 minutes a day, five days a week. This decrease is also consistent with the effect of some antihypertensive drugs. In addition, the group maintained most of this improvement even after they stopped exercising.
Recommended Exercises For Postmenopausal Women
Another benefit observed in this group was a 45% improvement in endothelial vascular function, the ability of arterioles to dilate upon stimulation, and a significant increase in nitric oxide levels, which are essential for arterial dilation and prevention of plaque formation. Finally, markers of inflammation and oxidative stress decreased significantly after breathing exercises, which were sustained by nearly 95% of subjects.
Muscle strength training for appetite may be especially beneficial in postmenopausal women, as aerobic exercise programs are not always effective in lowering blood pressure. “If aerobic exercise doesn’t improve this important measure of cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women, they need another lifestyle intervention that does.” This is the exercise “could be the case”Professor Craighead besluit.