“Can exercise cause blood pressure to rise?”
I constantly monitor my blood pressure. After working out, my blood pressure shows a high reading. Is it normal? Is it something I should be careful of?
3 Answers
No. After exercise a higher reading is normal but it will subside on rest. Be careful if the systolic goes beyond 190 or 200. See a doctor
Yes, elevated blood pressure after any strenuous activity such as exercise is what's known as a physiologic elevation and is entirely normal. You should see a faster heart rate and a higher blood pressure if you've recently been active.
As a general rule, you want to take readings for your blood pressure after being seated for at least 15 minutes in a relaxed posture, ideally taken on your left arm (assuming you don't have a contraindication to this such as a left mastectomy - if you don't know what that is, you don't have it) and with your arm resting at about heart-level such as on the arm of an armchair.
Over time, regular exercise should cause both your resting heart rate and your blood pressure to decrease. This is both a direct effect of improved cardiovascular fitness and an indirect effect caused by weight loss.
As a general rule, you want to take readings for your blood pressure after being seated for at least 15 minutes in a relaxed posture, ideally taken on your left arm (assuming you don't have a contraindication to this such as a left mastectomy - if you don't know what that is, you don't have it) and with your arm resting at about heart-level such as on the arm of an armchair.
Over time, regular exercise should cause both your resting heart rate and your blood pressure to decrease. This is both a direct effect of improved cardiovascular fitness and an indirect effect caused by weight loss.
Usually, the blood pressure goes down when we exercise as more blood is needed in the muscles, but if it is strenuous exercise, then it will rise.
