Just five minutes of vigorous exercise a day may lower blood pressure, new research suggests.
Analysis of data from around 15,000 people revealed that just a few minutes of running, cycling, climbing the stairs or walking briskly can have a positive impact on blood pressure. It has been reported that increasing your activity by up to 20 minutes can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease. report Published in Circulation on Wednesday.
“The most important thing that has a positive effect on blood pressure is exercise,” Mark Hammer, professor of sports and exercise medicine at University College London, said in a Zoom interview.
People with high blood pressure are at increased risk for heart disease and stroke, the leading causes of death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, high blood pressure was a major or contributing cause of 685,875 deaths in 2022.
Almost half of Americans have high blood pressure. Hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure (upper number) greater than 130 or a diastolic blood pressure (lower number) greater than 80.
Adults should do 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week. Most guidelines recommend it.
To find out how much exercise affects blood pressure, Hamer and his colleagues combined data from six previous studies that required participants to wear exercise trackers on their thighs 24 hours a day.
The 14,761 participants had an average age of 54 years and were approximately evenly split between men and women (53% women).
On average, participants slept seven hours a day, spent 10 hours in sedentary activities such as sitting, three hours standing, one hour walking slowly, one hour walking briskly, and 16 minutes of vigorous exercise.
Researchers found that replacing less active activities with 5 minutes of exercise could lower systolic blood pressure by 0.68 points and diastolic blood pressure by 0.54 points. The reduction was greater when exercise duration was 15 minutes longer.
For example, 20 minutes of vigorous exercise instead of 21 minutes of sitting or 26 minutes of leisurely walking was observed to improve systolic blood pressure by an estimated 2 points. Previous research Researchers note that a 2-point reduction in systolic blood pressure can reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke by 7% to 10%.
The new study “adds further evidence supporting the idea that even small movements can have a meaningful impact on cardiovascular health,” said Arun, an assistant professor at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New Mexico.・Dr. Manmadan said. York City.
Manmadhan says the idea of strenuous exercise can be daunting for people who are unwell. “This study shows that starting five to 10 minutes a day is effective,” he added. “A five-minute improvement in blood pressure alone is not very significant, less than one point. However, it is possible to increase from there in steps until there is clinical improvement in the cardiovascular risk profile.”
Dr. Matthew Tommy, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Faster Heart Hospital in New York City, who was not involved in the study, said there are many barriers to getting started. “Some people find it too busy,” he added. “Papers like this point out that you don’t have to spend a huge amount of time. Depending on what you’re doing, you may need little or no equipment.”
The main takeaway from this study is that all exercise is important, said Dr. Sean P. Heffron, assistant professor of medicine and director of cardiovascular fitness and nutrition at New York University Langone Medical Health. Heffron was not involved in the new study.
“I encourage people to do things they enjoy, like hiking,” Heffron said, adding that the new findings could help people who are unwell start working out.
Dr. Evan Britten, a professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, says step trackers, like those often built into smartphones, can help you self-monitor how much exercise you’re doing. Said to be helpful. .
“We thought 20 or 30 minutes at a time was not enough,” said Britten, who was not involved in the study. “There is now a lot of data showing that short-term activities are effective.”
