Dancing, swimming, and psychological counseling: A multi-faceted health strategy for patients with hypertension

**19. Can dancing lower blood pressure?**

Dance often requires walking on tiptoe, such as in ballroom dancing, where there are more opportunities to touch the ground with your toes. This posture not only provides good exercise for the calf muscles and ankle joints, but also acts on the brain through reflex to regulate blood pressure, thus causing a decrease in blood pressure.

People who dance regularly often experience this: after a stressful day at work, going to a dance hall brings a sense of relaxation, joy, and tranquility, which is very helpful for people with high blood pressure.

**20. Is swimming suitable for people with high blood pressure?**

In hot weather, swimming is not only a good way to exercise but also a good way to cool off. However, swimming is not suitable for everyone, especially for patients with high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. Swimming may not only trigger their diseases but also endanger their lives.

Swimming can trigger a stroke or cerebral infarction if a person with high blood pressure suddenly experiences a spike in blood pressure. For people with epilepsy, regardless of the severity of their condition, seizures can cause loss of consciousness, which can be extremely dangerous if they have a seizure while swimming.

Because swimming involves a high level of physical exertion, heart disease patients may experience insufficient blood supply during exercise, leading to coronary artery ischemia, vasospasm, and other phenomena, which could potentially trigger myocardial infarction or sudden death.

In addition, diseases such as acute conjunctivitis, tinea, and severe trachoma can spread rapidly in swimming pools, so patients should avoid swimming.

**21. Why is it difficult for people with high blood pressure to climb stairs?**

Since high blood pressure can damage major organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys, patients should first take medication as prescribed to control their blood pressure. At the same time, they should choose a place with good air quality, a good environment, and relative safety as their exercise venue, and choose light physical activities as their exercise method, such as walking, brisk walking, or jogging.

Climbing stairs obviously does not meet the requirements of good air quality, safety, and low exercise intensity, and is therefore not suitable for patients with hypertension.

**VII. Psychological Guidance for Hypertension**

**1. Why do emotional changes cause changes in blood pressure?**

This issue falls under both medical and psychological categories. So-called mental stress is psychological stress, which is the body's response to the external environment. A small amount of psychological stress is a necessary physiological function for the human body because people living in society have to cope with the external environment.

However, excessive psychological stress, especially negative psychological stress, can cause sympathetic nerve disorders. After excitation, blood vessels constrict, and constriction will cause blood pressure to rise.

In addition, economic problems, family conflicts, and conflicts with colleagues can all cause psychological stress.

**2. What is the significance of regulating one's mental state in preventing hypertension?**

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that mental and emotional activities have an undeniable relationship with the physiological and pathological changes in the human body.

Strong and sudden mental stimulation, or repeated and continuous mental stimulation, can disrupt the body's Qi mechanism, causing imbalances in Qi, blood, Yin, and Yang, leading to illness.

Emotional stress can lead to a deficiency of vital energy, making one susceptible to external pathogens and resulting in illness.

During this process, emotional fluctuations can worsen the disease.

A cheerful mood and a happy spirit can regulate the flow of Qi and blood, which is beneficial for maintaining the body's health, preventing the occurrence of diseases, or improving the recovery of health.

The Suwen (Plain Questions) chapter "On the Primordial Innocence of Antiquity" states: "When one is tranquil and empty of worldly desires, true qi follows; when one's spirit is guarded within, how can illness arise?"

It believes that regulating one's spirit can enhance the body's ability to resist pathogens and thus prevent disease.

The occurrence of hypertension is also closely related to psychological factors. Regulating one's mental state to enhance physical fitness and maintain the balance of Yin and Yang and smooth flow of Qi and blood are of great significance in preventing the occurrence of hypertension.

**3. What psychological misconceptions do patients with hypertension often fall into?**

(1) Ignoring the disease.

Because hypertension has an insidious onset and a slow progression, it is not easily detected. Although symptoms such as dizziness may occur, they can be relieved with rest and therefore do not attract people's attention.

Many people still hold the misconception that "as people get older, their blood pressure will naturally be a little high," making it easier for them to ignore the warning signs that high blood pressure brings.

(2) Neglecting psychology.

Hypertension is a psychosomatic disease, and psychological factors are an important cause of hypertension.

A survey of 24 universities in Beijing found that 60% of middle-aged intellectuals suffered from hypertension, compared to only 16% of the working class.

One factor contributing to the high morbidity rate among middle-aged intellectuals is the persistent stress of their work.

(3) Drugs are a panacea.

Many people know they have high blood pressure and that they need to take medication, but they fall into the misconception of relying solely on medication.

In fact, this passive treatment is also influenced by individual subjective factors.

The most obvious example is that when emotional excitement occurs, the blood pressure rises. Antihypertensive drugs alone are not very effective. However, if emotions are controlled, or even no medication is needed, blood pressure can sometimes drop significantly.

The treatment of hypertension now places great emphasis on the influence of psychosocial factors on the disease.

Guiding patients to change unhealthy lifestyle habits and applying biofeedback relaxation training can significantly improve symptoms.

(4) Neglecting adjuvant therapy.

Most people understand the principle that "life lies in movement".

However, not many people can stick to exercising; limiting salt and fat, losing weight, and relaxing emotions can prevent and treat high blood pressure.

Many people believe in this principle, but few actually put it into practice in reality.

Therefore, to overcome high blood pressure, one must first overcome one's own self-indulgence.

No measure can be effective overnight; only perseverance will bring benefits.