Moderate exercise and mental balance: two major non-drug therapies for patients with hypertension

Moderate exercise: Insufficient exercise is considered a major cause of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Epidemiological surveys show that physical activity levels significantly impact the prognosis of hypertension patients. Abstracts of research papers on hypertension in leading international cardiovascular journals also indicate that people with higher levels of physical activity have lower overall mortality and cardiovascular mortality rates than inactive individuals. Those who never smoke and are physically active have the lowest mortality rates, while those who smoke and are inactive have a relatively higher risk of death. For smokers, higher physical activity reduces cardiovascular mortality by 40%. The guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine also state that every adult should ideally have at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity daily. People who run more than 80 kilometers per week have a 50% lower risk of hypertension, a 50% lower dosage of antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medications, and a 30% lower risk of coronary heart disease over 10 years compared to those who run 16 kilometers per week. Increasing exercise beyond the currently recommended minimum is highly beneficial to health. To achieve good results from exercise training, it is important to determine the type, intensity, duration, and frequency of exercise, increasing aerobic exercise and avoiding excessive exercise in short periods. The cumulative exercise time required to achieve a blood pressure-lowering effect is reportedly over 1000 minutes, 60 minutes each time, at least 3 times a week, for 10 weeks. Patients should be advised to persevere; if exercise is stopped, the lowered blood pressure will return to its original level after about 4 weeks. Exercise therapy not only lowers blood pressure but also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and improves blood lipid metabolism.

Psychological Balance: Modern science believes that the root of many diseases lies in harmful socio-psychological factors. All adverse mental factors can become "stressors," disrupting the balance of the nervous system and leading to abnormalities in the neuro-endocrine-immune system, causing the occurrence, development, and outcome of diseases. Primary hypertension has long been classified as a typical psychosomatic disease. Studies have observed that hypertensive patients are more introverted, emotionally unstable, sensitive in interpersonal relationships, and prone to anxiety, depression, and paranoia than healthy individuals. Psychophysiological research also suggests that mental stress, autonomic nervous system activity, and conditioned responses can all cause hypertension. Psychological imbalance can contribute to cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular disease itself can further exacerbate psychological stress and imbalance. Health education should address the social environment, physical condition, and psychological factors of patients with hypertension simultaneously. Psychological therapies such as counseling, relaxation techniques, music therapy, interest cultivation, and hypnotic suggestion have shown significant antihypertensive effects. It is important to guide patients to strengthen self-cultivation, maintain an optimistic attitude, learn effective health maintenance methods, eliminate social and psychological stress, and maintain psychological balance and internal homeostasis to achieve the goals of treating and preventing hypertension.