Research
Hormonal
Dynamic aerobic endurance training significantly reduces resting and daytime ambulatory blood pressure in hypertensive patients, with effects mediated by reduced systemic vascular resistance and sympathetic tone.
Engage in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (like brisk walking, jogging, or cycling) on most days of the week. You do not need to train for hours; sessions as short as 15-40 minutes are effective. Consistency matters more than extreme intensity. This is a primary, non-pharmacological treatment for lowering blood pressure.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
After weighting for the number of trained participants, training induced significant net reductions in resting and daytime ambulatory blood pressure of, respectively, 3.0/2.4 mmHg (P < 0.001) and 3.3/3.5 mmHg (P < 0.01)... The reduction in resting blood pressure was more pronounced in the 30 hypertensive study groups ( – 6.9/ – 4.9) than in the others ( – 1.9/ – 1.6; P < 0.001 for all).
Why this rating
Based on a meta-analysis of 72 randomized controlled trials involving 3936 participants.
Source
Effect of exercise on blood pressure control in hypertensive patients
Robert Fagard et al. · European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation · 2007
Meta-analysis · 81 studiesCited 438×
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