Hypertensive Patients Who Exercise Have Lower Death Risk

Not exercising, training.

That notwithstanding:

According to a presentation at the World Congress of Cardiology, people with hypertension (high blood pressure) could reduce their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD) or all-cause mortality to a level equivalent a reduction of 40~50 mmHg in blood pressure, simply by exercising.

High blood pressure is one of the major preventable risk factors for premature CVD deaths worldwide, contributing to about 50% of all CVDs. The risk of developing CVD doubles for every 10-point increase in diastolic blood pressure, and if left untreated, hypertension can dramatically raise a person's risk of developing CVD. Hypertension treatment has been linked to reducing the risk of stroke by 35 to 40%, as well as reducing the risk of a heart attack by at least 16%.

The researchers conducted a prospective study that involved 434,190 Taiwanese people over a 12-year period, of which 54% were classified as being inactive, 22% as having a low level of activity and 24% as having a medium or higher activity level. The researchers compared the all cause and CVD mortality risk in between all activity levels and subsequently identified the blood pressure equivalence of physical activity by the difference in mortality risks between physically inactive and active participants.

The findings revealed that all-cause and CVD mortality risks were considerably higher at all blood pressure levels in participants that did no physical exercise, as compared with those who were physically active. Furthermore, when the higher death risk due to physical inactivity was converted into a measurement of "blood pressure equivalence of physical activity", the findings demonstrated that being physically inactive was similar to a higher death risk equivalent to a 40-50 mmHg higher blood pressure.

Learn how to train, here.