Breath training may help reduce blood pressure by serving as a 'dumbbell for the diaphragm': New study - Fox News

A daily dose for six weeks of high-resistance inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST) reduced the systolic blood pressure by an average of nine millimeters of mercury, according to a new study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology?

"In our research, we’ve found that high-resistance inspiratory muscle strength training, consisting of 30 resisted inhalations per day through a handheld device, lowered systolic blood pressure by 9 mmHg on average," said lead author Dr.

"This is important," Craighead said, "because a reduction in blood pressure of that level would reduce someone’s risk for getting cardiovascular disease and other health problems associated with high blood pressure." .

"A patient is at risk for high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, if the systolic blood pressure readings are consistently 120-129, which is termed elevated blood pressure," said one health professional.

A patient is at risk for high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, if the systolic blood pressure readings are consistently 120-129, which is termed elevated blood pressure?

People who are diagnosed with stage 1 hypertension have systolic blood pressure readings that consistently range from 130-139 mm Hg or diastolic reading that range from 80-89 mm Hg.

"Lifestyle measures, such as restricting salt intake and weight loss, can help lower blood pressure, though many people with high blood pressure eventually end up needing medications," added Bhatt. 

"Many people with high blood pressure eventually end up needing medications," said a professor medicine at Harvard Medical School. 

Stage 2 hypertension is when systolic blood pressure readings consistently range at 140/90 mm Hg or higher, according to the American Heart Association

"Potentially, breath training, as was done in this [new] study, might help strengthen the muscles involved with breathing and additionally lower blood pressure," Bhatt said

People who are on high blood pressure medications, said Bhatt, should not stop these medications without consulting their physicians first

"We need to do much longer studies to confirm that we actually see a lower rate of blood pressure-associated conditions in people who do this training," said the lead author of a new study. 

"I don’t think it will be a magic fix on its own," Craighead of the University of Colorado Boulder told Fox News Digital about IMST, the strength training process for respiratory breathing muscles

"A reduction in systolic blood pressure won’t be enough to fully control blood pressure in people with more than mild hypertension," he said

"We need to do much longer studies to confirm that we actually see a lower rate of blood pressure-associated conditions in people who do this training," he told Fox News Digital

All the research was done in a controlled laboratory setting, said Craighead, so "we need to learn about how effective this breathing training is when people train on their own, without researcher oversight."