A NEW piece of advice from the American Heart Association (AHA) for otherwise healthy adults with moderately elevated blood pressure and blood cholesterol is to “sit less and move more.” Together with the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the AHA has released a new scientific statement that stresses the value of recommending physical exercise as the first line of treatment for such individuals.

Research indicates that physically active people have a 21 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 36 percent lower risk of dying from it. The paper defines moderate hypertension as a systolic blood pressure level of 120-139 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or a diastolic reading of 80-89 mm Hg.

Bethany Barone Gibbs, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh, was chair of the group responsible for writing the paper. Dr. Gibbs says: “The current American Heart Association guidelines for diagnosing high blood pressure and cholesterol r2ecognize that otherwise healthy individuals with mildly or moderately elevated levels of these cardiovascular risk factors should actively attempt to reduce these risks.”

To address moderate hypertension and cholesterol issues, the statement recommends a minimum of 150 minutes each week of moderate intensity aerobic exercise — such as brisk walking, running, bicycling, jumping rope, and swimming — or 75 minutes each week of vigorous intensity aerobic activity. It also recommends performing strength-training activities on at least 2 days of the week.

Such exercise can reduce systolic blood pressure by 4 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure by 3 mm HG, LDL cholesterol by 3-4 mg/dl, and triglycerides by 4-12 mg/dl.(SD-Agencies)