Did you know that nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure? According to the American Heart Association (AHA), high blood pressure is a “silent killer” with no obvious symptoms to presage an attack. Lifestyle habits, including physical activity, can change a person’s risk of having high blood pressure.
A recent study investigated a novel technique that had positive results on blood pressure in middle-aged and older adults. This technique, known as high-resistance inspiratory muscle strength training, trains the diaphragm and other breathing muscles to inhale against resistance provided by a machine. Participants completed 30 breaths/day for 6 days for 6 weeks – half of these participants completed breath training while the other half completed sham training, working with very little resistance and no progression. After six weeks, the group that had undergone breath training had reduced their blood pressure while the sham group experienced no change. The breath training is considered “a safe, highly adherable lifestyle intervention” due to its efficiency. It’s worth noting, in addition, that other markers of cardiac health also improved in the training group and not the sham group, including vascular endothelial function and nitric oxide production.
When it comes to managing high blood pressure, the AHA believes that the saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” is spot on. Healthy lifestyle choices, such as increasing physical activity, which also trains breathing muscles, are key in preventing high blood pressure. As an added bonus, increasing your physical activity may have large impacts beyond blood pressure and physical health – the brain benefits from activity, too! The PAAD2 study at UNC Greensboro is investigating how activity may influence the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in individuals with a family history of Alzheimer’s or dementia. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining the study and fighting against Alzheimer’s, you can learn more about eligibility here!