Exercise for Hypertension

Abstract

High blood pressure (HBP) does not cause discomfort but still, you need to take care of and treat it. Otherwise, over time, it can damage the heart, kidneys, brain, and eyes. Lifestyle changes are essential in HBP, and physical activity is a parameter of great influence. In order to achieve the benefits derived from physical activity, it must be adequately prescribed, an aspect that will be developed in this chapter. The first section addresses the physiopathology of hypertension, with special interest in the pathological mechanisms that may induce hypertension, devices for monitoring blood pressure (BP), and an overview of the particularities that present hypertension in the presence of other pathologies and over the life span. Second section focuses on exercise prescription for hypertensive people, exploring each type of exercise that has been proved to be effective. We discuss for each type of exercise, the benefits, mechanisms involved in these benefits, the appropriate dose of exercise, and other methodological considerations including risk management issues. We conclude with a clinical case study. A detailed exercise training program will be developed for this particular case study in order to try to bridge the gap between theory and practice.