If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, then your doctor has probably spoken to you about exercising to lower blood pressure naturally. But how much exercise to you need to lower blood pressure naturally? And how does exercise lower blood pressure?
The official recommendation from the JNC7 report is that aerobic exercise,
such as brisk walking, should be performed for at least 30 minutes, 4 or
more times a week, to lower systolic blood pressure an average of 4-
9mmhg. While it was traditionally thought that only aerobic exercise
could lower blood pressure, …

If you are carrying a few extra pounds, weight loss may be an excellent way to lower your blood pressure naturally. According to the Surgeon General, high blood pressure is twice as common in obese individuals when compared to those at a healthy weight. Research also shows that when overweight persons drop their weight by 10 pounds it can not only naturally lower their blood pressure but can cut their chances of becoming hypertensive by almost half. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, …

New research shows that people in cardiac rehabilitation who are overweight benefit the most from long slow walks, not short brisk exercise as previously thought.
Seventy-four individuals enrolled in a cardiac rehabilitation program. They were all overweight, had coronary heart disease and were randomly assigned to either a standard rehab exercise program or a program designed to burn about four times as many calories. The standard rehabilitation exercise included 25-40 minutes of brisk walking, biking or rowing three days a week for a total of about 700-800 calories burned per week. …

If you are using medications to control your hypertension, make sure you are fully aware of their side effects. In 2004 the American College of Sports Medicine wrote a full report on exercise guidelines for hypertensives. Included in the report were the following warnings for hypertensives on medications:
• Antihypertensive medications such as beta blockers and diuretics impair the ability to regulate body temperature during exercise in hot and/or humid environments
and provoke hypoglycemia (88,206). Thus, people using these medications should be educated on the signs/symptoms of heat illness, the role of …

Lifestyle changes, including exercise, are being promoted as a first line of defense against high blood pressure (hypertension). Several recent studies provide insight into how much exercise lowers blood pressure as well as what type of exercise lowers blood pressure.