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Many factors can increase our risk of heart attack, from a family history to certain illnesses. But the most important are the daily behaviors that are directly under our control, says Elena Ghiaur, MD, primary care physician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. “The most important factors that affect us every day are smoking, lack of exercise, the food choices we make and obesity,” she says. Sadly, like many doctors, Ghiaur has seen the stress and isolation of the pandemic cause too many patients to get stuck in unhealthy patterns. To start reducing your risk of a heart attack today, here are the habits you’ll want to avoid or reverse. Read on and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss this special feature: I am a doctor and I warn you never to take this supplement.
Heart health is complicated, and the best approach is to pursue multiple strategies, including diet and exercise. But a new study has found that one simple trick – five minutes of breathing exercises, performed six days a week – can lower blood pressure and protect your heart. Read On — To Ensure Your Health And The Health Of Others, Don’t Miss These Sure Signs You Have A ‘Long’ COVID And You May Not Even Know It.
Results were comparable to high blood pressure medications and better than exercise
According to study, which was published on June 29 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, high resistance inspiratory muscle training, or IMST, is a potentially life-saving practice. The study authors describe it as “strength training for your respiratory muscles,” and they found it can help heart health just as much, and possibly more, than aerobic exercise.
During IMST, patients inhale using a hand-held device that provides resistance. It was first developed in the 1980s to help people with severe respiratory illnesses.
“We know there are many lifestyle strategies that can help people maintain their cardiovascular health as they age. But the reality is, they take a lot of time and effort and can be expensive. and difficult to access for some people, ”said senior author Daniel Craighead, Ph.D., an assistant research professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder. “IMST can be done in five minutes in your own home while you watch TV.”
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The study involved 36 adults aged 50 to 79, all with higher than normal blood pressure. Half of them did a high resistance IMST for five minutes a day, six days a week. The other half received a placebo diet.
After six weeks, the systolic blood pressure of the test group was on average nine points lower. These are the kinds of results that blood pressure medications produce, and they outweigh the effects of walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week. The researchers found that participants’ vascular endothelial function – the ability of arteries to dilate – improved by 45%. Their levels of inflammation and oxidative stress also decreased.
Even six weeks after stopping IMST, study subjects retained most of this improvement.
“We have found that not only is it faster than traditional exercise programs, but the benefits can be longer lasting,” Craighead said.
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How can breathing lower blood pressure?
Researchers don’t know how breathing exercise can lower blood pressure. They think it might help the cells lining the blood vessels to make more nitric oxide, allowing them to relax.
If the results are confirmed, IMST could provide numerous cardiac protection results in the shortest possible time. “We have identified a new form of therapy that lowers blood pressure without giving people pharmacological compounds and with much higher grip than aerobic exercise,” said senior author Doug Seals, PhD, distinguished professor of physiology integrative to university. “It’s amazing.”
The National Institutes of Health gave researchers $ 4 million to conduct a larger follow-up study.
About 65% of adults over 50 in the United States have high blood pressure, which increases the risk of stroke or heart attack. But less than 40% of Americans get the amount of exercise recommended by experts like the CDC and the American Heart Association: 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. And to live life in great shape, do not miss The # 1 cause of diabetes, according to doctors.
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