EXERCISE A POSSIBLE TREATMENT FOR REDUCING BLOOD PRESSURE?
High blood pressure is one of the world’s biggest silent killers.
High blood pressure (hypertension) increases the risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, kidney disease, cognitive decline, heart failure and sudden death.
A recent study reported on in The Telegraph suggests that exercise could be used as an alternative lifestyle intervention to tackle this problem rather than just relying on routinely prescribed drugs. These have been an increase in prescriptions of 50 per cent between 2006 and 2016.
““Exercise may be as good at drugs at reducing high blood pressure, research suggests. The study – the first of its kind – pooled data from almost 400 trials looking at the impact of either medication or physical activity. It found that for those with high blood pressure, exercise seemed to be just as effective as most drugs used to treat it.””
You can read the full article in the Telegraph here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/18/exercise-could-good-drugs-cutting-high-blood-pressure/
“The Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also urged GPs to prescribe exercise, with walking groups, gardening and volunteering found to boost health and reduce anxiety.”
The article does also highlight one key issue with exercise prescriptions - making sure they were interventions that their patients were likely to stick with long term.
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