Reducing blood pressure by breathing

Breathing exercises for hypertension can strengthen the vascular system, relieve nervous tension - one of the main causes of high blood pressure, restore metabolism in the body, and normalize blood supply. You can perform various types of recreational gymnastics, but you need to know which sports are more effective for lowering blood pressure.

What sports are considered optimal for hypertension

Physical exercises are of two types:

1. Isometric exercises that promote the development of muscles, along with this, there is an increase in muscle mass, which, of course, leads to an increase in blood pressure. Therefore, doctors do not recommend doing such exercises with high blood pressure. Hypertensive patients should not lift heavy gymnastic equipment, avoid exercises based on active movements of the trunk and lower extremities. People with a diagnosis of arterial hypertension should also refrain from rhythmic gymnastics, and it is also not useful for hypertensive patients to climb mountains, either with or without a load.
2. Dynamic or isotonic exercises. In this sport, the load falls on large muscles, especially the muscles of the lower and upper limbs are loaded, while the body expends a large amount of energy, calories are burned. To provide muscle tissue with oxygen, the work of the lungs and the cardiovascular system is activated, and these processes, as you know, are the best way to reduce blood pressure. Conclusion: the described types of sports activities under No. 2 bring invaluable benefits to people diagnosed with hypertension.

We list the sports that hypertensive patients can do:

• Cycling at a moderate pace on a level surface.
• For people who are overweight and diagnosed with hypertension, doctors call swimming the best sport. Swimming stimulates the processes of blood circulation, saturates the tissues of the body with oxygen, strengthens the muscles of the arms, legs, back, while the load on the listed muscle groups is acceptable. As a result of numerous experiments, experts have calculated that swimming, which lasts 45 minutes and is performed 3 times a week for two months, reduces the readings on the tonometer screen by 7-10 units.
• Therapeutic gymnastics, which is done in water, is very effective. When the body is in an aquatic environment, the static force of the muscles is greatly reduced, while all muscle groups are relaxed. Among other things, physical therapy according to a special technique, based on immersion of the body in water, trains breathing well.
• Walking, which can be combined with walks in the fresh air. To begin with, it is enough to walk no more than 2 km at a moderate or calm pace. Every 14 days the distance can be increased by 0.5 km. The optimal distance for hypertensive patients is 4 km, which should be completed daily, spending 1 hour on it. When walking for health, you need to monitor your pulse all the time, you should not allow your heart rate to be high. If the pulse is out of range, you should reduce the distance or increase the time period allotted for this type of training.
• The optimal physical activity is climbing stairs. Of course, the number of storeys of the building should be taken into account, but the rise to the 4th-5th floor will be useful for people with stage 1 and 2 hypertension.

You can cure the initial stage of hypertension with exercises based on breathing.

Correct breathing technique

Very often, people suffering from hypertension ask questions related to breathing techniques and about the methods of the health complex, including breathing exercises.

In fact, proper breathing improves the patient's condition and normalizes the indicators on the tonometer screen.

Currently, the treatment of hypertension is carried out according to a variety of methods, including methods mastered on proper breathing. All of them come down to such basic directions - breathing, which is performed by deep and shallow, shallow breathing.

The fact is that when the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood rises, a condition develops, called hypercapnia in medical circles, and in this state, blood pressure jumps sharply. A decrease in the level of carbon dioxide leads to hypocapnia - a condition in which there is a decrease in indicators on the screen of the tonometer.

Deep breathing enriches the blood with oxygen, reduces the concentration of carbon dioxide.

There are many supporters of this technique, and they all believe that such therapeutic exercises help strengthen the cardiovascular system and effectively fight hypertension.

When the numbers on the tonometer are higher than the normative indicators, the pulse is quickened and the head is spinning, then it is necessary, first of all, to calm down, and then you can start health-improving gymnastics. Therapeutic exercise is performed in a sitting or lying position.

Gymnastics for hypertensive patients:

1. Take a deep breath, hold your breath, count to 20. The breath holding time is selected individually depending on the patient's condition.
2. The exhalation is done slowly without tension, and after a 30-40 minute break, you can take a deep breath again and try to hold your breath for 5 seconds longer than it was done the previous time.
3. The number of repetitions is from 6 to 12 times.

Whoever thinks that breathing exercises alone are not enough to cure hypertension, we can advise you to perform a special complex and more about it later.

Therapeutic exercises for hypertensive patients

Any complex of physical exercises, even if it is therapeutic exercises, should be discussed with your doctor.

The entire set of exercises described below is performed in a standing position, feet shoulder-width apart, the number of repetitions is 6-8 times:

• Warm-up. Inhale deeply, fingers clenched into a fist. Unclench your hands and exhale slowly.
• We move the arms bent at the elbow joint to the waist, the fists are clenched. At the expense of times, they lower their hands down, unclench the brush. Inhale. As you exhale, return your hands to your waist.
• When leaning forward, we inhale, hands and head are relaxed and lowered down. On exhalation, we return to the starting position. Important: it is strictly forbidden for hypertensive patients to lower their hands below the level of the knee joint.
• Collect the brush into a fist, bend your arms, move the body forward and sit down. Turn the body to the left while inhaling, while exhaling, turn to the right.
• The arms, bent at the elbow joint, are placed at chest level, palms look at the floor. Connect your hands while inhaling behind your back, while throwing one arm over your shoulder, wrap the other under your arm. Exhalation is performed when returning to the starting position.
• On an inhale, we lean forward, hands at the knees. On the rise, exhale.
• Stand up, tighten the abdominal muscles, relax the hands, the back is straight. When turning the head to the left, take a deep breath, then return to its original position - exhale. Try not to move your shoulders.

• All the same, but do not perform turns with your head, but tilt forward.
• While inhaling, we tilt our head forward, touch the chest with our chin, and when we return to the starting position, we exhale. Muscle tension should be felt only in the cervical region, all other muscle groups need to be relaxed.
• We make a lunge with a leg bent at the knee, sit down so that the toe of the second foot rests on the floor, and the heel rises. In this case, the arms bent at the elbow joint, put forward and move to the left. Then change the position of the arms and legs. On a lunge, inhale, when changing position, exhale.

In many polyclinics there are rooms for recreational physical education. If a person attends such training, then it helps not only to cure hypertension of 1-2 degrees, but also to strengthen the immune system, the heart muscle. In addition, the walls of the vessels will strengthen, become elastic and the pressure will stabilize as a result.