High blood pressure, also known has hypertension, contributed to the deaths of 410,000 Americans in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

People with heart failure or who have recently had cardiac surgery must be vigilant when beginning an exercise therapy routine. The American Heart Association says that the goal of exercise training is to help the cardiac patient regain activity tolerance but to do so cautiously.

Blood pressure is defined as the force of the blood against the arterial walls and it is reported using two numbers. The systolic pressure is the pressure recorded when the heart is actively pumping blood through the arteries. The diastolic pressure is the measurement taken when the heart is at rest between beats.