Special Feature – run in conjunction with radio work. Broadcast on Millennium Supreme 99.8 Sunday 13 June 2004

High Blood Pressure
What to do and what not to do

The main aim of exercise therapy is to strengthen the heart with cardiovascular conditioning. A general guideline for exercise progression is that it must always be gradual, i.e. beginning walking for 5mins than increasing to 6 then 7 then 8 minutes per session. The intensity of the activity must always be manageable, generally of low intensity and preferably one that is continuous and rhythmical, like that of walking.

OK activities

• Walking, cycling, the epileptic x trainer, rowing a tai chi class
• Dance - low intensity small movements i.e. line dancing
• Any event which is not competitive and you can set the pace

Not OK activities
Any event whereby we hold our breath. When we hold our breath our blood pressure will increase dramatically so we need to minimise events when this happens.

• Swimming - especially when diving and participating in high intensity strokes where the breath is held in synchronicity i.e. the front crawl and the butterfly
• Yoga/Pilates - not recommended as yoga and pilates features lots of static poses i.e. the tree pose, the plank where we get into position and hold. The tendency is to hold our breath once we are in pose.
• Compound Exercise - the squat or the lunge is an example of a compound exercise. Lots of muscle groups are used in one movement and the heart has to work quite hard, favoured work is that of isolation i.e. a bicep curl.
• Overhead Exercise movements which occur above our head like the lat pull down machine, the shoulder press and the clean and jerk.
• Activities where we hold our breath, which raises blood pressure.

Lifting weights and high blood pressure
The weight used must always be low to medium never heavy. Do not lift weights to exhaustion and the main exercise therapy should not consist of purely a weights session it will not lower blood pressure. The exercise therapy must be balanced featuring mainly cardio work and some weights.

Time of day/how often
Generally speaking avoid the morning and aim for 2 to 5 sessions per week.

Furthermore, aim to build up to a total duration of 30 to 40 minutes of cardiovascular work. Always increase intensity last, walk for longer or change mode i.e. from the recumbent bike to the upright bike. Intermittent counts i.e. two 15 minute sessions walking can count as one 30 minute session.

Other sports the likes of football, tennis, badminton and netball are considered to be anaerobic as they do not strengthen the heart and will not bring down your blood pressure. They are fast paced explosive sports and the body uses other pathways when working in an explosive fashion.

Dionne Griffiths
GP referral instructor
Fusion (Southwark Council)

[Updated 07/09/04]