Most older people suffer from high blood pressure. Maintaining healthy blood pressure can protect against serious diseases such as heart failure, heart attacks, and strokes. A new study from the University of California has shown that adding just 3000 steps a day can significantly reduce high blood pressure in older adults.
Exercise has a long-term effect on lowering blood pressure in adults with hypertension. The new study aimed to determine whether older adults with hypertension could reap these benefits by moderately increasing their daily walking. It is one of the easiest and most popular forms of physical activity for this population.
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The study focused on a group of older adults aged 68 to 78 who were sedentary and walked an average of 4,000 steps per day before the study began. Having studied existing research, the scientists decided that a reasonable goal would be 3000 steps. It will also allow most participants to take 7,000 steps a day, which is the recommendation of the American College of Sports Medicine.
The team was conducting research in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, so they had to do everything remotely. The researchers sent participants a kit with pedometers, blood pressure monitors, and step diaries so that they could record how much they walked each day.
After the intervention, the participants’ systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased by an average of seven and four points, respectively.
A reduction in these values corresponds to a relative reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality by 11%, mortality from cardiovascular disease by 16%, a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease by 18%, and a reduction in the risk of stroke by 36%.
The results of the study show that reaching 7,000 steps per day has the same effect on lowering blood pressure as taking antihypertensive drugs. Eight of the 21 participants were already taking antihypertensive medications, but they still saw a positive effect on their systolic blood pressure due to increased physical activity in their daily lives. Therefore, walking, along with medications, can be part of the treatment arsenal.
Researchers have found that walking speed and continuous walking are not as important as increasing the total number of steps. That is, it is the amount of physical activity that matters, not its intensity.
