In France, approximately 1 in 3 adults suffer from high blood pressure (HTA): this disease is more common after the age of 65 and among people who have an unbalanced diet (too rich in salt and/or too low in potassium), who are very sedentary, who smoke and who are often stressed.
Good news for people with hypertension: according to a new study carried out by Laval University (in Canada), doing yoga several times a week would help combat this chronic disease.
Yoga 5 times a week to reduce blood pressure
The Canadian researchers recruited 60 volunteers with high blood pressure and divided them into two groups. For 3 months, the participants of group 1 did yoga 5 times a week (15 minutes as a warm-up before a 30-minute sports session) while the participants of group 2 did the same program by replacing the yoga through stretching.
Result ? At the end of the experiment, the volunteers in group 1 had reduced their systolic blood pressure by 10 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) on average compared to 4 mmHg for those in group 2. As a reminder, we speak of arterial hypertension when the systolic pressure is above 140mmHg and/or when the diastolic pressure is above 90mmHg.
“There are many ways to do yoga: people with hypertension who wish to supplement their treatment with an appropriate physical activity will necessarily find a yoga that suits them!” the researchers point out.
Source :Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
