Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Health: Exercise Contraindications and Safety Guidelines for Hypertensive Patients

Patients with hypertension should avoid strenuous activities such as bending over or bending forward excessively during exercise, as these can alter their posture and worsen chronic conditions. Extra caution should be taken during exercise, and it is best to exercise under the guidance of a doctor.

Four categories of hypertensive patients should avoid exercise:

① Hypertension complicated by severe arrhythmia, cerebral vasospasm (with dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting), angina, etc.

② Uncontrolled hypertension reaching 210/110 mmHg, or abnormal reactions to exercise, including excessively high blood pressure even with slight exertion.

③ Diastolic blood pressure rising to 133 mmHg or blood pressure not rising after exercise.

④ Blood pressure exceeding 220/110 mmHg, complicated by aortic dissection or acute cerebrovascular disease.

Hypertensive patients should avoid excessive water intake after exercise. Exercise generates a lot of heat in hypertensive patients, placing their organs in a state of "high heat" compared to normal. Drinking cold water after exercise can cause the throat, esophagus, and stomach to contract rapidly due to the cold, leading to discomfort—a condition commonly known as "lung explosion." Drinking cold water after strenuous exercise, especially large amounts for immediate relief, can cause stomach cramps and pain in mild cases, and fainting in severe cases, requiring immediate hospitalization. The correct approach is to rest briefly after exercise, wipe away sweat, wash, and then drink warm water, avoiding large amounts at once.

High blood pressure patients should avoid sitting or lying down after exercise. Some high blood pressure patients sit or lie down after exercise, believing this will accelerate fatigue recovery. However, this not only fails to restore the body to normal quickly but also has adverse effects. During exercise, cardiovascular function strengthens, peripheral capillaries open, and skeletal muscle blood flow increases to meet the body's needs. The rhythmic contraction of skeletal muscles during exercise can compress blood vessels, promoting venous blood return. After exercise, if you stop moving or sit down to rest, the veins lose the rhythmic contraction of skeletal muscles. Blood will stagnate in the lower limbs or peripheral veins due to gravity, leading to reduced venous return and decreased cardiac output, causing temporary cerebral ischemia and symptoms such as dizziness and blurred vision. Therefore, hypertensive patients should perform some cool-down activities after exercise to prevent dizziness and other symptoms, improve blood circulation, quickly eliminate fatigue, and enhance exercise effectiveness.

Hypertensive patients should not neglect cool-down activities after exercise.

① Hypertensive patients should perform cool-down exercises such as jogging or walking after exercise to promote venous blood return from the lower limbs and prevent an excessive decrease in cardiac output after exercise.

② Hypertensive patients can accelerate fatigue recovery through "transfer activities." Transfer activities refer to performing upper limb cool-down activities after lower limb activities, such as exercising the right arm followed by the left arm. This active rest helps restore physical strength as quickly as possible.

③ Hypertensive patients should not engage in excessive cool-down activities, otherwise, the cool-down activities may cause new fatigue. When performing cool-down exercises, one should feel relaxed and cheerful. However, if the exercise intensity is low, such as a walk, cool-down exercises are unnecessary.

④ Hypertensive patients should perform full-body cool-down exercises after high-intensity exercise. If necessary, exercisers can perform cool-down and relaxation exercises together.

Hypertensive patients should avoid breath-holding exercises. Some strength-based sports, such as weightlifting, throwing, jumping, and wrestling, require muscles to exert maximum force in a very short time. This involves holding one's breath, which increases intrapulmonary pressure and reflexively strengthens skeletal muscle contraction. These exercises, known as breath-holding exercises, can increase strength but are unsuitable for hypertensive patients. During weightlifting and breath-holding, the explosive force is generated in an instant; at this time, the vocal cords close tightly, the abdominal muscles contract suddenly, and the intrapulmonary pressure rises abruptly. The increased intrapulmonary pressure affects the heartbeat, and compression of the vena cava hinders venous blood return, resulting in reduced cardiac output. Hypertensive patients already have reduced blood supply to the brain; further reduction can cause dizziness, blurred vision, and in severe cases, fainting. Although holding your breath reduces cardiac output, blood pressure suddenly rises. This is because when most muscle groups exert force, the contracting muscles compress blood vessels, suddenly increasing resistance to arterial blood flow. Measurements of blood pressure changes during weightlifting have shown that some people's systolic blood pressure can suddenly rise to 200-300 mmHg. Moreover, blood pressure fluctuates greatly and rapidly throughout the entire weightlifting activity. Simultaneously, the explosive force during weightlifting causes a strong stress response in the body. Sudden increases and fluctuations in blood pressure are very dangerous for hypertensive patients whose arterial walls are brittle, less elastic, and have narrowed lumens.

Studies have found that strength athletes have a higher chance of developing hypertension than the general population. The most likely reason is that frequent breath-holding can cause blood pressure spikes, making those with pre-hypertension symptoms more sensitive or causing them to develop hypertension. Hypertensive patients have hardened arterial walls and reduced neural regulation function; frequent breath-holding exercises can worsen hypertension.

Hypertensive patients should not shower immediately after exercise.

During exercise, a large amount of blood is distributed to the limbs and body surface; once exercise stops, this increased blood flow continues for some time. Showering immediately after exercise can cause excessive blood to flow into the muscles and skin, leading to insufficient blood supply to vital organs such as the heart and brain.