High blood pressure in old age - being active helps

As we get older, we feel our mobility decreasing and this affects our mood and general well-being. Problems with Hypertension reinforce this further.

high blood pressure (hypertension) is not only caused by unfavorable lifestyle factors such as obesity, excessive salt intake, too much alcohol, smoking and Stress, but also due to lack of exercise.

• Almost every second person over the age of 60 is affected by high blood pressure
• Not everyone knows about the disease or does not take it seriously enough
• Half of all strokes occur in people over 70 years of age
• The survival prognosis of older people after a Heart attack is bad

By adjusting your blood pressure, many symptoms can be improved. But you can also improve your health by doing things yourself, by exercising more or Sports have a positive impact on your fitness even in old age – even if you have never been an athlete.

First of all, health check The personal fitness level can be determined. With the Doctor Measures are then discussed which individual activities can bring benefits for mobility. This can then significantly reduce problems with high blood pressure.

Getting fit again in a gentle way

Physical exercise and sport increase blood pressure in the short term because the body has to pump more blood through the circulatory system. In the long term, however, regular exercise ensures that blood pressure drops - because exercise trains the blood vessels and makes them more elastic.

According to current knowledge, three things are important if people with high blood pressure want to be active in old age: exercise – endurance – strength

Getting more exercise by climbing stairs or walking more instead of driving already helps to raise your awareness of being more fit. Using a pedometer also helps if you can monitor whether you are achieving the recommended 10.000 steps per day.

If you exercise at least three days a week, you are training your endurance. About 30 minutes of brisk walking each day is enough to significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and, above all, to get your blood pressure under control.

Anyone who also goes cycling, Nordic walking or uses an ergometer will soon notice how their well-being improves. With the help of a fitness watch or the measuring devices on the ergometer, you can monitor how your resilience can be gradually increased.

By slowly increasing the activities, the personal heart rate reserve should be increased to around 60%. This means that someone who has a resting heart rate of around 60 and a maximum heart rate of around 160 should reach a heart rate of 120 during endurance training.

You can also change your own limits in small steps with strength training, but professional guidance and supervision is advisable.

The best way to start a proper training

Endurance sports have proven to be particularly helpful for people with high blood pressure. Sports clubs often have a health sports department. People meet up to do their favorite sports, such as volleyball, and have a lot of fun together. Often an instructor and a doctor are present to show how it's done, or in case one of the participants suddenly develops health problems.

People with artificial knee or hip joints can also continue to be active. In consultation with the treating physiotherapist and orthopedist, many activities can be carried out that particularly reduce problems with high blood pressure. People with an artificial joint do not have to take it easy - on the contrary. They have less pain and feel motivated to move more and to walk and stand safely.

Training against stumbling and falling

In addition to the problems with high blood pressure, strength also decreases with age and you no longer feel steady on your feet, you stumble and fall more easily. Statistically speaking, around a third of people over 65 and half of those over 80 fall at least once a year. Getting up again becomes more and more difficult over time. An unfortunate fall can have serious consequences. It is therefore better to regularly train your muscles and sense of balance while standing and with few opportunities to hold on. This reduces the risk of falling over time.

Sports such as Tai Chi Chuan or Pilates and also the so-called Otago program have proven to be particularly effective for training in groups and also alone at home.

Safe walking is supported by targeted training and the leg and postural muscles are strengthened. At the same time, the veins are strengthened for their work by well-functioning calf muscles.

osteoarthritis and rheumatism: Exercise as Pain Medicine

Every second woman and every third man between the ages of 70 and 79 suffers from osteoarthritis. When the bones rub against each other without protective cartilage, every movement can become torture. But the best Medicine The best way to relieve osteoarthritis pain is exercise.

Physical activity ensures that the body produces synovial fluid that nourishes the cartilage. And when muscles, tendons and ligaments are strengthened through exercise, the joints are more stable. Stable joints prevent microtraumas in the body and, in some cases, rheumatic inflammation. Sport also helps you lose extra weight that puts strain on the joints.