No story here, though my RHR and breathing rate have noticeably fallen since I started cycling.
According to the literature, endurance exercise can, on average, reduce systolic bp by only 7 and DBP by 5 mm hg (in those with known hypertension). You may see further gains from significant weight loss. So, it depends on how bad your hypertension is and whether you will honestly be able to lose much more weight.
Beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors will inhibit your athletic performance, which would decrease my desire to exercise at all. If I were only mildly hypertensive, my personal, informed choice (I am just some guy on the web) would be to forgo the drugs for the short term and make significant efforts to eat better, and get more exercise. I would then have myself reevaluated, at maybe 6 months (BP is so difficult to measure, you know). If my protocol didn't work, then the drugs may be in order.
It is possible that this situation applies to you (you haven't shared your BP) and your doc is rx-happy. It is also possible that your doc has considered all of this, but your BP is too high to be likely to be lowered into an acceptable range by lifestyle modifications alone.
Last edited by tadawdy; 12-08-09 at 03:04 PM.