Heart Health
Breathing exercises to lower your blood pressure
A regular breathing practice may reduce blood pressure as much as taking medication.
- Reviewed by Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
The average person breathes in and out some 22,000 times each day, usually with little effort or thought. But here's something worth pondering: practicing slow, deep breathing for just a few minutes a day can lower blood pressure, potentially reducing the first number in a reading (systolic blood pressure) by up to 10 points.
"Anyone with stage 1 hypertension, which is defined as a systolic reading of 130 to 139, should know that breathing exercises are an effective way to lower blood pressure without medication," says Dr. Kimberly Parks, a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. For people with elevated blood pressure (a systolic reading of 120 to 129), deep breathing could help them avoid high blood pressure in the future, she adds.
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About the Author
Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
About the Reviewer
Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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