In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleWhy Is Walking Good for Your Blood Pressure?How Long Does It Take for Walking to Lower Blood Pressure?The Best Walking Plan to Help Lower Blood PressureHow to Step Up This Walking PlanThe Bottom Line
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
Why Is Walking Good for Your Blood Pressure?
How Long Does It Take for Walking to Lower Blood Pressure?
The Best Walking Plan to Help Lower Blood Pressure
How to Step Up This Walking Plan
The Bottom Line
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Photo: Getty Images
From research about chocolate and blood pressure to how sleep relates to blood pressure, this heart-health-related biometric is a frequent hot topic here onEatingWell—and one that fans often want to learn more about.
Going back to basics for a moment, what is blood pressure (aka hypertension), exactly?
According to theAmerican Heart Association, anything 120/80 mmHg or lower falls under the “normal” category, while Stage 1 hypertension is classified as 130-139/80-89 mmHg. Stage 2 is anything 140/90 mmHg or above, and “hypertensive crisis”—requiring immediate medical care—occurs when blood pressure is over 180/120 mmHg.
According to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to chest pain and, eventually, heart attack, heart failure or stroke. TheWorld Health Organizationexplains that some risk factors for high blood pressure are things you can’t control, including family history (genetics), age and frequently co-existing conditions, such as kidney disease or diabetes. But other hypertension risk factors are things you can affect, including whether you smoke, consume excess salt and saturated fats and more.
While diet might be the single most impactful lifestyle factor related to blood pressure, research published in September 2022 in the journalHypertensionsuggests other important factors are at play.
The #1 Diet to Lower High Blood Pressure, According to Science
Exercise is one of the three things that can help lower high blood pressure even when medication isn’t helping. While a well-balanced fitness routine that meets the recommendations for physical activity is best, aerobic workouts, in particular, appear to be important to prioritize. According to a study in the February 2019 edition ofHypertension, sedentary adults who walked for just 3 minutes every 30 minutes while sitting for 8 hours experienced better blood pressure shifts than their fully seated peers.
So why does walking move the needle—and what’s the best way to get started on a walking workout to lower blood pressure? Read on for the answers.
“Walking is an aerobic activity, so it increases endurance and physical fitness, which are both benefits for heart health,” Rizzo says. “Research also shows that people who walk more have a lower risk for heart disease.” For instance, a 2019 study published inPreventing Chronic Diseaseconcluded that walking is a way to encourage an active lifestyle and prevent cardiovascular disease.
The heart is just like any other muscle: the more we use it, the stronger it becomes.
“All of our muscles work better when they are strong,” saysDamien Joyner, an ACE-certified health coach and personal trainer with Incremental Fitness in San Diego. “Think of physical activity as strength training for our heart. When the heart is stronger, it can push the blood throughout our body with less effort. Because of physical activity, our heart becomes more efficient at pushing the blood, and the force on our arteries decreases. As that force decreases in our arteries, our blood pressure is lower.”
All forms of physical activity, including walking, can impact heart health and help to lower blood pressure, addsAngie Asche, M.S., RD, CSSD, a registered dietitian and owner of Eleat Sports Nutrition in Lincoln, Nebraska. She says that exercise is especially beneficial for systolic blood pressure (the first number in that mmHG reading), which can, in turn, help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
“Several studies point to improvements after about eight weeks of intervention” among sedentary individuals, Asche says.
Overall, Joyner believes that a good estimate for noticeable changes in blood pressure would be a few weeks to a few months for consistent exercise to lower your blood pressure.
“Consistent exercise is key,” he says. “Other factors like stress, diet, hydration levels, medication you are taking, and other health-related factors can also negatively or positively influence how long it may take for a blood pressure shift to occur. Aside from that, I would encourage you to not only think about the numbers, even as important as they are. Overall well-being, energy levels and feeling like you are reconnecting with your body and making progress don’t have a number measurement, but are all very significant.”
Just like any change in behavior, the speed with which you see changes will be dependent upon how big those changes are, addsErin Beck, the Orange County, California-based director of education for Stride Fitness.
“Start with a shift you can maintain, check your blood pressure once per week to monitor progress, and add a new challenge to your routine every four weeks to see if you can make additional progress,” Beck says.
Healthy High-Blood Pressure Meal Plan for Beginners
As you embark on this walking plan for hypertension, keep these pointers from Joyner in mind:
Week 1: 20-minute walk five days per week
Week 2: 20-minute walk five days per week
Week 3: 30-minute walk five days per week
Week 4: 30-minute walk five days per week
Remember that analogy about strength training for the heart? The more you consistently exercise, the better, Joyner says.
“The intervals included in the training plan are a helpful way to mix things up,” Joyner says.
Walking is mostdefinitely a good enoughworkout to improve your heart health and overall well-being. As with making any healthy habit change stick, Beck says the most important piece of any new workout plan is finding what works for you.
When that becomes a habit, add a daily walk—before dinner, or maybe during your lunch hour, or right when you wake up, she continues. Even just 10 minutes at a brisk pace will be enough to raise your heart rate and potentially be a boon for your blood pressure over time.
If you could use a little extra nudge to make this walking plan for better blood pressure part of your day, “put some headphones on and listen to a book, podcast or music, talk to a friend or even have a work call, all while walking. It’s easier to stick to a walking routine when you know you can cross off another task off your list—or listen to something you enjoy—during the process,” Asche advises. “Take your time and go at your own pace, ideally working your way up to 30 minutes or more daily.”
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