When it comes to heart health, it’s easy to focus too much on your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. But there’s a more significant threat:high blood pressure. It may not always make headlines, but hypertension (the medical name for high blood pressure) is the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease death, per theAmerican College of Cardiology.
If that statistic makes your blood pressure rise, taking a deep breath might help. Really. According to a 2022Journal of Applied Physiologyanalysis, a special kind of deep-breathing therapy, called inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST), may be more effective for reducing blood pressure than exercise. And it takes just five minutes a day.
What Is the Link between Breathing and Blood Pressure?
High blood pressure isn’t only about your heart. It’s also about your breathing muscles. Enter IMST, a therapydeveloped in the 1980sto help people with respiratory diseases strengthen their diaphragms and breathing muscles. “IMST involves using a small handheld device to provide resistance when you inhale,” explainsDaniel Craighead, Ph.D., lead researcher of the study and assistant research professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “In that way, it’s akin to a weightlifting maneuver, such as a bench press.”
But the truly jaw-dropping finding is that it’s also as effective as some blood pressure medications.
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Why Is IMST So Potent?
5 More Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure
If you’d like to lower your numbers, with or without IMST, thesetried-and-true strategiescan also help:
Downsize Sodium
Bump Up Potassium
Try the DASH Diet
7-Day DASH Diet Meal Plan
Keep an Eye on Your Weight
Ease Up on Alcohol
While a margarita may do good things for youoccasionally, chronic drinking can increase your risk of high blood pressure. According to a 2021 review published inCurrent Hypertension Reports, excessive alcohol consumption can increase the risk of hypertension in both men and women, and in women, the risk can begin with moderate intake. Your best bet is to follow theCDC’s general guidelinesregarding alcohol—for females, one daily drink or less, and for males, two drinks or less. And since drinking with meals is less likely to spike blood pressure than sipping on an empty stomach, better to enjoy your drink with dinner.
TheBottom Line
“IMST is a great low-burden and time-efficient strategy for people to add to what they are already doing,” says Craighead. But it’s not a substitute for a healthy diet and lifestyle. Instead, think of it as one more tool in your blood pressure-lowering lineup.
17 DASH Diet Snack Ideas for a Healthy Heart
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