Physical activity as a cardiovascular risk reductor in hypertensive people

Abstract

Today, arterial hypertension is a disease that affects almost one third of the adult population worldwide. This disease, in turn, is the first cardiovascular risk factor, but also a risk factor for chronic renal disease and dementia. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of dead at the global, regional, national and provincial levels, so actions aimed at managing, controlling and reducing the risk of developing them are of vital importance. The healthy practice of physical exercise is an effective and economic tool as an adjuvant to the treatment of arterial hypertension and reductor of cardiovascular risk. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercises have positive effects on blood pressure levels, help control blood cholesterol levels and are effective against dyslipidemia and even against diabetes mellitus, pathologies that further increase cardiovascular risk. Healthy physical activity also fights sedentary lifestyle and regulates body weight. However, the physical activity status is not directly taken into account when stratifying cardiovascular risk in the predictors currently used in the country that are those proposed by the Pan American Health Organization. That is why this work aims to substantiate the role of the practice of physical activity as cardiovascular risk reductor in hypertensive persons.