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If your blood pressure measure yields a reading of 120\/80 or less, pat yourself on the back \u2013 your blood pressure is under control.<\/p>\nIf your blood pressure measure yields a reading of 120\/80 or less, pat yourself on the back \u2013 your blood pressure is under control.<\/p>\n
This is becoming increasingly rare, however.<\/p>\n
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates approximately 25% of Americans have hypertension, and a further 33% of them have pre-hypertension \u2013 and the numbers are on the increase!<\/p>\n
One of the biggest challenges for medical professionals is to catch people with moderately high blood pressure before they develop hypertension.<\/p>\n
A research team from Delhi in India conducted a study on the effects of yoga on people with pre-hypertension.<\/p>\n
They recruited 60 participants in their 50s and divided them into two groups \u2013 one did moderate aerobics, didn\u2019t smoke, and ate healthier food.<\/p>\n
The other received the same lifestyle advice, but also added yoga into the mix.<\/p>\n
The group that followed the lifestyle changes remained the same, but the yoga group experienced an average reduction of 4.9 mmHg, consistently, every day they practiced yoga.<\/p>\n
If a 4.9-point overall drop looks insignificant, bear in mind that a mere two mmHg drop in diastolic pressure can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease by 6% and that of stroke by 15% – this is enough to keep pre-hypertensive people from needing to start medication.<\/p>\n