Blood pressure reactivity to mental stress is attenuated following resistance exercise in older hypertensive women

Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the effects of resistance exercise (RE) on autonomic control and blood pressure (BP) reactivity during mental stress (MS) in treated older hypertensive women.MethodsTen older hypertensive women (age =71.1±5.5 years; body mass index =24.2±3.9; mean BP [MBP] =85.4±3.5) underwent a protocol consisting of BP and heart rate variability (HRV) output assessments at baseline and during MS, and these measurements were taken before and 60 minutes after two bouts of RE (traditional and circuit). MS was induced through a computerized 3-minute Stroop color–word test before and 1 hour after each exercise session; BP was measured every minute during MS, and HRV was monitored as a measure of cardiac autonomic control.ResultsA significant effect of time on systolic BP (Δpre =17.4±12.8 versus Δpost =12.5±9.6; P=0.01), diastolic BP (Δpre =13.7±7.1 versus Δpost =8.8±4.5; P=0.01), and MBP (Δpre =14.0±7.7 versus Δpost =9.3±5.4; P<0.01) after RE was observed, with no differences between the two sessions. In addition, a significant effect of time on log-normalized low-frequency component of HRV (ms2; 5.3±0.8 pre-exercise MS versus 4.8±1.0 baseline value; P=0.023) was also observed, showing a significant change from baseline to MS before RE, but not after RE sessions. These results may be related to a lessened RE-mediated cardiac sympathetic activity during MS.ConclusionRE is an effective tool to reduce BP reactivity to MS, which could therefore be associated with an acute reduction in cardiovascular risk. This result presents relevant clinical implications, combining previous evidence that recommends this exercise modality as an important component of an exercise program designed for the older and hypertensive subjects.

Proinflammatory Arterial Stiffness Syndrome: A Signature of Large Arterial Aging

“…Regular exercise substantially reduces ET-1 signaling, TGF-β1 activity, cellular senescence, proinflammation, and calcification in the aged arterial wall [76, 78, 86, 89, 141, 173]. Importantly, regular exercise effectively prevents age-associated SNA, BP increase, arterial stiffening, endothelial dysfunction [11, 16, 78, 89, 152, 174].…”

Efeito do treinamento físico multicomponente sobre parâmetros de saúde de mulheres com idade entre 50 e 80 anos: influência de variantes genéticas de óxido nítrico sintase endotelial (eNOS)

“…A redução dos valores de PA e a prevenção da HAS é preferível em um primeiro momento pelas mudanças no estilo de vida, incluindo hábitos alimentares e de atividade física, dentre outros (CALDARONE et al, 2017). O monitoramento da HAS em adultos de idade avançada e idosos é claramente relevante, dado que a prevalência desta doença e as complicações relacionadas tendem a aumentar com o envelhecimento da população, especialmente em mulheres (BRASIL, 2017;GAUCHE et al, 2017;MALACHIAS et al, 2016 (CHOBANIAN et al, 2003).…”