Controlling high blood pressure reduces the risk for heart attacks and death from other cardiovascular disease. Extreme low blood pressure, however, can be hazardous "?even deadly.

Scientists add that although higher death rates among those with low blood pressure may be due to other causes, cardiac deaths were particularly high in untreated patients with low diastolic blood pressure compared to patients with heart disease and low systolic pressure.

Research indicates that the death rate is higher among those with high diastolic blood pressure and those with low diastolic blood pressure compared to those in the mid range. This was the case for treated patients as well as untreated patients. High or low systolic readings do not seem to have as much impact in relation to deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.

Intense exercise or cardiovascular exercise impacts the blood flow; pumping slows, which results in a dramatic drop in blood pressure. The body then responds quickly by increasing heart rate and cardiac output to maintain blood pressure at the level required so that the individual does not lose consciousness due to drastically low blood pressure.

The moment exercising ceases, blood pressure drops drastically. This is because when muscles stop contracting, there is no longer a pump to send blood back to the heart. The heart responds by lowering cardiac output.

Also, blood flow in certain areas remains high due to the concentrations of metabolic byproducts in the bloodstream causing blood vessels in the muscle to remain dilated. This results in a drop in the heart's blood volume, as blood is caught in the blood vessels, which in turn lowers blood pressure.

As body temperature increases when an individual is exercising, the blood vessels in the skin dilate to lose the extra heat. Again, this could also reduce blood volume in the heart, as enough blood is not present to be pumped into the heart.

That's why a cool-down routine is so important after exercise. The cool-down causes blood pressure to drop sufficiently and the heart rate to return to normal. Taking all this into account, it has been proven that regular exercise will gradually lower resting blood pressure, especially in those with borderline or mild hypertension.