Why does your blood pressure go down as a result of long term exercising?
I know that if you exercise your blood pressure eventually goes down if you have a high blood pressure, but why? Is it because your heart is stronger and therefore doesn’t need to work as hard so the blood pressure goes down? Thanks.
The work your heart has to do is fixed. Mathematically it is: – {the amount of blood pumped} multiplied by {the square of the impedance (to flow) of the vascular loop}. (or CO x TPR squared)
So, it’s got nothing whatever to do with the heart being stronger or weaker. If the heart is weak, then it will simply perform the work less efficiently; -if it is a healthy heart, it will do it more easily and efficiently.
The reason your BP (supposedly) "goes down" when you are healthy, is because your arteries and other blood vessels don’t get sclerotic when you exercise properly. The actual pressure generated by your heart remains the same either way, but arteriosclerosis prevents the pulses of pressure generated by your heart being absorbed by elastic expansion of the aorta and larger arteries.
So, in reality, you "blood pressure" doesn’t really "go down". What happens is that the indicated (or apparent) readings of BP taken by a monitor at the brachial or radial artery are lower than the true pressure values because of absorption within he aorta and upper (larger) arteries.