High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is often referred to as the ‘invisible killer’ because it increases the risk of heart disease without any obvious warning signs. Given its prevalence (about 1 in 3 adults in the UK has hypertension), researchers are actively seeking new ways to tackle an old problem. It’s well known that diet can help reduce high blood pressure, but a rather unique approach has also been discovered: high resistance inspiratory strength training (IMST).
Developed in the 1980s as a method to help patients with severe respiratory illness strengthen their diaphragm and other inspiratory (breathing) muscles, the IMST requires vigorous inhalation through a handheld device that provides resistance. Imagine sucking hard through a tube that sucks back.
Initially, when prescribed for respiratory problems, doctors recommended a regimen of 30 minutes a day at low resistance.
Recently, however, Daniel Craighead, an integrative physiologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and his colleagues have found that a more time-efficient protocol (30 inhalations a day at high resistance, six days a week) can reap cardiovascular benefits. It has been tested to see if it can improve cognition and sports performance.
In a 2021 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Professor Craighead and colleagues recruited 36 healthy adults with above normal systolic blood pressure (120 millimeters of mercury or higher) between the ages of 50 and 79. Did.
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“We found that not only was it more time efficient than traditional exercise programs, but the effects could be longer lasting,” says Professor Craighead.
The treatment group had a 45% improvement in vascular endothelial function, the ability of arteries to dilate when stimulated, and significantly increased levels of nitric oxide, a key molecule that dilates arteries and prevents plaque build-up. Nitric oxide levels naturally decline with age.
Markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, which can increase heart attack risk, dropped significantly after people underwent the IMST.
And surprisingly, participants in the IMST group completed 95% of the sessions.
Read more: Hypertension: 2 drinks associated with ‘surge’ within 30 minutes of ingestion
I take the test
The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure tested.
“All adults over the age of 40 are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every five years,” the NHS said.
Doing this is easy and could save your life.
Blood pressure can be tested in a variety of locations, including:
- with your GP surgery
- in some pharmacies
- As part of an NHS health check
- Depending on the workplace.
