High Blood Pressure or Hypertension is being considered as a “Global Health Concern” in the developing countries and is ironically least studied in these countries as well.
High Blood Pressure is a serious medical condition that is dangerous for the Heart. It makes the heart harder to pump blood throughout the body. This put a strain on the arteries of the heart by hardening the arteries and leading to severe cardiac disorders such as Atherosclerosis, Angina, Stroke, Myocardial Infarction, Coronary Artery Disease, Heart Failure and even Kidney Diseases.
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Rising High Blood Pressure Issue in Pakistan
According to the CDC, about 75 million of us (every 1 out of 3 adults) are suffering from High Blood Pressure. The study published in the British Journal of General Practice estimated that about 18% of adults and 33% of adults above the age of 45 years are being affected by High Blood Pressure. Another survey reported that about 18% of people of Pakistan are suffering from High Blood Pressure, with every third person who is above 40 years old is more prone to various diseases and disorders due to High Blood Pressure. Latest studies in the Archives of Public Health highlighted that only a few population-based surveys regarding the prevalence of High Blood Pressure or Hypertension were evaluated in Pakistan with no latest analysis has been done. This study concluded that High BP was more prevalent among males in urban areas as compared to females.
How to Lower Blood Pressure?
The aforementioned data has provided a very simple reason for having high blood pressure issues and it is that this disease has no typical symptoms. For this very reason, you have to monitor your blood pressure regularly to keep it under control. If however, you realize you are heading in the wrong direction regarding your Blood Pressure, No Need to Worry! There is one simple medication-free technique to help you reduce high blood pressure i.e. Exercise-Walking.
“ Exercise-Walking helps you in coping with High Blood Pressure and it is the easiest and cheapest high blood pressure remedies”.
Walking-Best and Cheapest Remedy to Reduce High Blood Pressure
Daily walk or exercise can help you in reducing the High Blood Pressure and keeping it normal. Many people think that the daily walk is not quite effective for mental and physical health. But, according to Diabetology International, studies have shown that diabetic individuals who walk daily for at least 30 minutes have proven to lower the blood glucose level in the body and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Walking is not only good for diabetes and heart but rather daily active walk, improves the flow of blood in your and especially brain which enhances cognition. It also reduces depression and anxiety. It is that social activity that helps you in improving your physical and mental health.
If you are not the one who walks regularly then, it will take some time for your body, so be mindful to start slowly and let your body adapt to this new change in your life. Doing this will help you in boosting immune system and decrease your chance of getting seasonal flu.
Is Walking Effective in Reducing Your Blood Pressure?
Yes, it is true that walking is effective in reducing High Blood Pressure. Researchers from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, conducted a survey of the effect of walking on 400 women who were having obesity and high blood pressure issues and were in the age group 45-75 years old. After 6 months of their research, they concluded that
- All the women had balanced blood pressure, in fact, they had improved their readings of Blood Pressure after regular walking.
- Even though the women did not acquire significant weight loss, they had improved their cardiovascular fitness.
Even according to the study by Harvard Medical School, Regular Exercise and walking can help in improving heart health, reducing high blood pressure and stress hormones. These were key findings as stress is the major cause of high blood pressure among young adults. Regular walk or exercise can make your heart stronger. If your heart is strong then, it’ll supply the blood easily to the whole body with less effort thus lowers the blood pressure.
By becoming more active, you can lower your systolic blood pressure (i.e.the top number in a blood pressure reading) by an average of 4-9 mm of mercury (mm Hg). This is a good result which is acquired by some blood pressure medications. Therefore, for some people, getting moderate exercise is enough to reduce the need for blood pressure medication.
How Much Walking Do You Need to Keep Your Blood Pressure in Check?
If you are suffering from health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure then according to the research you should at least do moderate walking exercise for at least two and a half hours. At least, try to have 30 min a day and never skip this exercise for consecutive two days. Walking is one of the best, cheapest, easiest and medication-free techniques to keep a check on yourself. In fact, you don’t need any special equipment or shoes, you can just simply put on any pair of shoes and you are set to go on a walk anywhere.
If however, you have a hectic schedule and can’t make time at once for a 30 min walk daily, then you can break up your walking session into three, 10-minute sessions. The improvement will remain the same as for one session of 30 minutes. If you are sitting for consecutive several hours daily for work, this again will lead to many health issues. Here, again take a short 10-minute walk during work. In order to keep this routine, you can set a reminder on your smartphones.
Some Proven Tips to help you in keeping up with Daily Walk in Reducing High Blood Pressure!
Walking transforms your Life in a Miraculous Way at any part in the time of your life. You should make walking your daily habit. Now here are some following ways to incorporate the habit of walking in your life and Reduce High Blood Pressure Issue:
- At work, take the stairs.
- If you have a dog, take your dog out for a walk.
- Instead of shopping online, go out physically.
- If you are doing some work, watching television or reading a book, try to move your body by doing some short “sessions” of exercise.
- Instead of just socializing with your friends, try to take a walk with them.
- Keep a track of your walking exercise and enjoy the improvements.
In the end, you must monitor your progress by keeping a record of your blood pressure. Make sure to regularly check your blood pressure either at home using a blood pressure monitor or get it checked during your doctor’s visit. If you are checking your blood pressure at home then make sure to monitor it before and after your daily walk. Make sure to try moderate walking exercise and don’t tire yourself out and you’ll feel the difference.
