When it comes to lowering high blood pressure, exercising is pretty much the last thing people want to do, a new survey shows. Much more preferable was popping a pill or sipping a cup of tea every day, the poll of 1,400 people found. The Yale researchers asked what treatment or intervention appealed the most, and they found that only a monthly shot ranked lower than exercise. Even more discouraging, some respondents were unwilling to adopt any of the four proposed treatments, even if it meant living an additional year or five years.

"I suspect many people are hesitant to take lifelong medication or to adopt lifelong lifestyle modifications, and some of that is because many don't believe it's going to have much of an effect on their well-being," said study author Dr. Erica Spatz.

"So I wasn't surprised to find a significant number of people who thought that even if these interventions lengthened their life span, they were reluctant to adopt [one]," Spatz added. She is an assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine and a clinical investigator at the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation at Yale University School of Medicine.

High blood pressure, which affects about one-third of American adults, raises the risk for heart attack or stroke, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just over half of those with high blood pressure have the condition under control, the CDC says.

New guidelines issued in late 2017 by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology lowered the definition of high blood pressure to readings of 130/80 mm Hg or higher, rather than 140/90 mm Hg or higher, to allow for earlier interventions such as lifestyle changes or medication.

In the latest survey, most participants were under age 45, while about three-quarters were white, 10 per cent were black, 7 per cent were Hispanic and 8 per cent were Asian. About 38 per cent had a history of high blood pressure, Spatz said.

Respondents were given four options to treat their hypothetical high blood pressure, including taking a pill, drinking a daily cup of tea, exercising, or getting a monthly or semi-annual injection. Taking a pill was the most popular treatment, with 79 percent saying they'd be willing to do so for an extra month of life, 90 percent for an extra year and 96 per cent for an extra five years.

Drinking tea daily ranked second, with 78 per cent reporting they would do so for one extra month of life, 91 per cent would for an extra year and 96 per cent would for an extra five years of life.

Exercise ranked below that, with 63 percent of respondents saying they'd be willing to do so for an extra month of life. Meanwhile, 84 per cent would exercise for an extra year of life, and 93 per cent would exercise for an extra five years.

Only 68 per cent of participants would opt for a therapeutic shot every six months if it translated into an extra month of life; 85 per cent would for an extra year of life and 93 per cent would do so for an extra five years.

But if the shot were needed monthly only 51 per cent of respondents would take it for an extra month of life, 74 per cent would for an extra year and 88 per cent would for an extra five years of life.

HealthDay