High blood pressure can be caused by obesity, eating too much salt, not doing enough exercise and not getting enough sleep.
The condition puts extra strain on blood vessels, the heart, the brain, kidneys and eyes.
It increases the risk of heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and even vascular dementia.
But, you could lower your blood pressure by keeping physically active, and do more cycling, swimming and running.
“Exercise is a great way of managing high blood pressure,” said medical website Patient.info.
It told Express.co.uk: “If you’re physically active, you’re likely to have a stronger heart that pumps blood with less effort, decreasing the force on your arteries.
“On average, becoming more active can lower your systolic blood pressure by as much as 4-9mmHg.”
Golf is a good choice for high blood pressure patients, as it has clear cardiovascular benefits with players walking as much as eight miles over the course of 18 holes.
Blood Pressure UK’s CEO, Katharine Jenner, said: “When it comes to activities that are good for your blood pressure, these include cycling, swimming, tennis and jogging.
“In comparison, things such as weight lifting, squash, scuba diving and sprinting are not good for your blood pressure.”
Most people with hypertension should be able to start an exercise programme without too much trouble, said Patient.info.
But, if your blood pressure is higher than 179/99mmHg should use caution when exercising.
You could also lower your blood pressure by cutting back on the amount of salt you eat.
Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet, and reducing your alcohol intake may help to reduce the symptoms of hypertension.
While often there are no symptoms at all for high blood pressure, it can cause severe headaches, difficulty breathing and chest pain.
The only way to find out whether you have high blood pressure is to get it checked, according to the NHS.
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