High blood pressure is a common, often chronic, condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough to cause health problems. High blood pressure puts an enormous burden on health care resources throughout the world. The risk of high blood pressure includes a heart attack, stroke, and other serious health problems.
Blood pressure is determined by how much blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to the flow present in your arteries: more blood + narrow arteries = high blood pressure. Unfortunately, even though it’s doing damage to your vessels and your heart, you may not have symptoms. The American Heart Association has used 120/80 as a normal blood pressure marker for many years. However, currently not all experts agree. It is best to check with your physician to determine if you have high blood pressure (what is “normal” or “best” for you) and how to treat it.
Medication, exercise, and diet are known to be important ways to lower your blood pressure. However, long-term blood pressure medications and the potential adverse effects are concerning to a lot of patients and their physicians. Many are looking for safer, complementary alternatives. Tai Chi hasn’t been as well-studied as traditional medicine, however, results of recent studies suggest good reasons to try it to reduce high blood pressure.
When you're in a stressful situation, your body produces a surge of hormones, which temporarily increases your blood pressure by causing your heart to beat faster and your blood vessels to narrow. And while researchers aren’t completely sure whether stress by itself causes long-term high blood pressure, they do know that it can contribute.
Mind/body exercises have been shown to lower your blood pressure and decrease stress. Tai Chi has been shown to contribute to lower blood pressure, improved heart function, decreased cardiovascular risk factors, and improved quality of life. Therefore, It may be a good idea to consider Tai Chi as complementary and/or alternative therapy for high blood pressure!
Tai Chi is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine and consists of movements that are slow, gentle, meditative, and can be modified for most physical conditions.
Recent studies show that it may work as well as medication and/or more intense exercise (which may not be appropriate for some people) and may be just as effective for lowering blood pressure, as weight loss and lowered sodium intake.
Tai Chi has been shown in studies (including some cited below) to be as effective on blood pressure as more intensive, aerobic exercise.
The American Heart Association states that Tai Chi may reduce blood cholesterol, related lipids and inflammation, which all contribute to poor heart health. Yet another good reason to try it!
Research Findings:
At one point, it was felt that only intensive exercise would reduce blood pressure. Tai Chi as a low to moderate intensity, mind/body exercise, may be more appropriate for some individuals and can be as effective as higher intensity exercises for reducing blood pressure. An increasing body of research has shown evidence of the positive effect Tai Chi may have on cardiovascular health. Young, et al. conducted the well designed, randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of aerobic exercise versus Tai Chi on blood pressure in mildly hypertensive older adults and discovered that Tai Chi was equally effective in reducing blood pressure.
A systematic review appearing in the Spring 2008 issue of Preventive Cardiology reported that Tai Chi lowered blood pressure in 85% of the studies reviewed.
China published the first meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of Tai Chi on blood pressure in the July 2020 issue of Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Comprehensive analysis of random controlled studies showed that Tai Chi was more effective in reducing blood pressure than the control group.
Also published in July 2020, the Department of Nursing at Kangwon National University in Korea, investigated the effects of Tai Chi on blood pressure. All of the volunteers had high blood pressure, were independent in their activities of daily living, and had not exercised regularly in the six months prior to the study. After 6 weeks, the Tai Chi group had their blood pressure return to a normal range and had reduced waist circumference.
If you have heart disease, take blood pressure medications, or have other health problems, be sure to check with your physician before starting any new program or treatment, including Tai Chi.
So what’s keeping you from finding a class, taking a deep breath, and flowing through the beautiful movements knowing that you're working towards a healthier heart, body, and mind.