Posted on 10/18/2024 9:11:48 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
High blood pressure (hypertension) causes thickening of the blood vessels and hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis). A study has shown that a similar phenomenon occurs in the lungs. High blood pressure hardens the bronchi and increases airway resistance, impairing respiratory capacity.
"Our analysis showed that subjects who practiced regular physical activities appeared to be partially protected against hardening of the bronchi," Rodolfo de Paula Vieira.
Prior research showed that lung function is closely linked to the ability of the lungs to expand and revert to their previous state (elastance and resistance), and that this was most altered in older patients with hypertension.
"Changes in lung mechanics are expected as a natural result of the aging process, but basically the study shows that hypertension accelerates the hardening of the bronchi and that physical exercise keeps this process partially at bay," Vieira explained.
"This is very important as the more hardened the bronchi become, the more difficult it becomes for air to enter and leave the lungs. In the long run, this accelerated process of hardening of the bronchi makes breathing difficult for older people. Worse still, it's a cycle: Lower oxygen saturation accelerates the aging process throughout the organism."
In another study that has not yet been published, the same researchers analyzed the relationship between physical exercise and protection against hardening of the arteries and bronchi due to hypertension, focusing on the extent to which the degree of rigidity could affect blood flow and lead to aneurysms or thrombosis (hemodynamics). The volunteers were submitted to a three-month training protocol comprising three exercise sessions per week.
"Physical exercise all but eliminated these cardiovascular alterations. This proves once again that physical activity must be part of the lives of older people. There's no such thing as healthy aging with sedentarism," Vieira said.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
However, the currently unpublished second study showed the three months of three exercise sessions a week can “all but eliminate” the cardiovascular issues from hypertension.
Uncontrolled high blood pressure can also cause aneurysms, and aneurysms can also be hereditary. My second oldest sister ended up with four aneurysms in her head because her blood pressure was never controlled by medication. It was her Ophthalmologist who discovered the problem. He thought she’d had a stroke, and sent her to a Neurologist. They did a catheterization on her, and found the four aneurysms. The biggest of the aneurysms was on the right side of her head at the same level of her eye. It had gotten so big that it was causing her eye to turn in toward her nose. They operated on her, tying off the inner carotid artery on that side. It stopped the flow of blood to three of the aneurysms. The fourth one was small, in the back of her head, and they kept track of it via CAT scans. She was 63 at the time. She next had surgery on her eye to straighten it out. Everybody in the family but me smoked their whole lives. When she was diagnosed with the aneurysms, she stopped smoking cold turkey. Five years later she was diagnosed with lung cancer, and passed away 18 months later.
“There’s no such thing as healthy aging with sedentarism,”
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I’ve never been so sedentary as after I’d bought a Smartphone.
Smartphones should be banned...
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