High blood pressure - the best exercise to slash your risk of deadly hypertension - Express

High blood pressure is a common condition that affects more than 25 per cent of all adults in the UK.

Many people have the condition and aren’t even aware of it, which is why it’s often known as ‘the silent killer’.

But doing regular exercise is an easy way to lower your chances of developing the deadly condition, which is also known as hypertension.

Doing strength training is crucial to avoiding high blood pressure, it’s been claimed.

Regular strength training should form part of everyone’s workout routine, scientists have revealed.

The exercises - which includes basic resistance training - could lower systolic blood pressure by as much as 16mmHg, they said.

But, doing strenuous weight lifting should be avoided, as it could be doing more harm than good.

“For those who like lifting weights, there’s good news,” said medical website Everyday Health.

“Strength training can help in the management of hypertension.”

Charity Blood Pressure UK added: “Different kinds of exercise and activity have different effects on your body.

“If you have high blood pressure, you should try to focus on activities that will help your heart and blood vessels.

“Other forms of activity are less helpful.

“For example, you should not do any exercise that is very intensive for short periods of time, such as sprinting or weightlifting.”

The best combination for preventing high blood pressure is around 30 minutes a day of aerobic activity, five days a week, and strength training two or three times a week.

Persistently doing heavy weight lifting could quickly raise your heart rate, and put unwanted strain on your heart and blood vessels, it said.

You should also avoid doing some extreme sports if you have high blood pressure.

Squash, skydiving and sprinting could all be raising your blood pressure over a short space of time.

Having high blood pressure puts extra stress on your heart and other vital organs.

All adults should check their blood pressure at least every five years.

Speak to a GP or pharmacist to check your blood pressure.

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