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5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)

colorado.edu

51–60 of 244 posts

Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)

#51
post #46
post #37

I don't fully get the "lowers blood pressure" claim. Doesn't Table S2 in the paper say that blood pressure stayed roughly the same for people doing high-resistance IMST and went up for the control/sham group doing low-resistance IMST? The question in my mind is "why does low-resistance IMST increase blood pressure?" Am I missing something?

Hmm this is a great catch. The figures quoted in their Methods and Results ("from 135±2 mm Hg to 126±3 mm Hg") don't seem to match any in Table 2.

Those are casual systolic blood pressure readings (from 135±2 mm Hg to 126±3 mm Hg). Table S2 are ambulatory.

Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)

#52

My wife has white coat syndrome. There was a time (~7 years ago). We were living in NYC. The doctors office was at the top of 5 flights of stairs and the elevator was out. Having just climbed 5 flights of stairs and telling the doctor she has white coat syndrome, they _immediately_ take her blood pressure. Noting it’s (unsurprisingly) high, suggests she go on blood pressure medication. A decision that would surely ha…

That TLDR should be on every so-called physician's office, especially in America. Actual healthcare is your own duty. Most physicians are there for medicine/testing, which are both for-profit, and they are not incentivized to keep you in optimal health. In fact, they make a little bit more money if all of their clients are not too healthy... which is why so many doctors are moral injured from hospitals putting profits ahead of health when they realize they act as prescription and diagnosis drones for so many of their patients. It's better to call US "healthcare system" the "disease maintenance industry", as once you combine the "health" lobby with the "food" lobby, you see they work synergistically to keep consumers at sub-optimal health, and maximum profitability for all the leeches involved. Disgusting.

Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)

#53
post #33
post #22

Okay, so I have some straight up anecdotal evidence done with a real blood pressure cuff by a trained medical professional for a related phenomenon. I have to get a buprenorphine injection monthly. As a part of this, they take my blood pressure. I was talking to the nurse, animatedly about the silly policies our state government has around electric scooters, as she was taking my blood pressure. She didn't read out bo…

If you are going to study effects on blood pressure in your own physiology, I very much recommend getting a home device so you can take a lot of measurements. Blood pressure changes constantly for any reason or (as far as I can tell) no reason. When I take my own measurements, I take five measurements back to back without moving and see bigger swings that you did. I've seen that using three different home devices. I'…

It’s called the “white coat syndrome” — when you’ve just arrived to the hospital to make your appointment, and the nurse/doctor start taking your readings in a high-stress environment, the reading ends up being higher: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pr...

I actually think this is why fitness devices like the Apple Watch (v8 is supposed to be able to check blood pressure) are great in that high sampling rates probably yield overall more accurate results as outlying deviations can be more easily and methodically sorted out.

Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)

#54
post #38
post #34

This is called Pranayam. We are doing this in India since ages... Good to see that 'experts' from Western countries taking baby steps to learn. Good for you guys! Keep it up. Note 1: Some 'expert' took my comment on their ego and downvoted my comment. Guys, my comment was encouraging. Taking it on your ego is your personal choice.

What else do you believe the west is missing?

I don't think I have time to compare what East has to learn from West and vice-versa. You can try to document it as it suits you.

Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)

#55

My wife has white coat syndrome. There was a time (~7 years ago). We were living in NYC. The doctors office was at the top of 5 flights of stairs and the elevator was out. Having just climbed 5 flights of stairs and telling the doctor she has white coat syndrome, they _immediately_ take her blood pressure. Noting it’s (unsurprisingly) high, suggests she go on blood pressure medication. A decision that would surely ha…

> TL;DR - doctors will kill you.

Personal opinion only but I think that in 100 years we will look back on the standard prescription drugs of the current era with the same mixture of horror and fascination that we feel today when we look back on the medicine of the 19th century.

Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)

#56
post #29

I've been using a Powerbreathe for inspiratory muscle training. The daily exercise only takes a few minutes. But it requires occasional cleaning, and the spring valve sometimes gets stuck closed. I haven't noticed any obvious decrease in blood pressure. https://www.powerbreathe.com/product-category/breathing-trai...

There are inhalation resistance trainers on Amazon for as little as $20. I'm doubtful the more expensive devices offer any benefits. In fact the simpler less expensive models look much easier to take apart and clean. As long as you are breathing against resistance, you're getting a benefit.

Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)

#59
post #22

Okay, so I have some straight up anecdotal evidence done with a real blood pressure cuff by a trained medical professional for a related phenomenon. I have to get a buprenorphine injection monthly. As a part of this, they take my blood pressure. I was talking to the nurse, animatedly about the silly policies our state government has around electric scooters, as she was taking my blood pressure. She didn't read out bo…

My BP is always high while I'm talking

Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)

#60
post #47

Fun things to try with breathing: - When lightly exercising, close eyes and focus on breathing. Note effects on heart rate. - Get into an uncomfortable (but safe) position such as a deep squat, crab position, etc. Close eyes and focus on breathing. Note effects on feelings of discomfort, and effort to maintain the position.

Safety note for folks with uncontrolled hypertension: before squatting even just your body weight, read up on the Valsalva maneuver.
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