Can Exercise Help Regulate Blood Pressure and Improve Functional Capacity of Older Women with Hypertension against the Deleterious Effects of Physical Inactivity?

Abstract

Background: Sedentarism and inactivity are risk factors for the development of hypertension. Thus, the prevention of the natural process of biological and physiological aging of older women through physical exercise results in higher benefits in preventing cardiovascular diseases and can be a key factor for its treatment. Multicomponent exercise (METP) is a training method that may help older women with hypertension by improving their quality of life and their response to treatment. Methods: Twenty-eight older Caucasian women with hypertension (66.7 ± 5.3 years, 1.59 ± 0.11 m) performed a supervised METP program of nine months followed by three months of detraining (DT), and seventeen older women (68.2 ± 4.7 years, 1.57 ± 0.16 cm) with hypertension maintained their daily routine, without exercise. Blood pressure (BP), resting heart rate, and functional capacity (FC) were evaluated at the beginning and at the end of the program, and after three months of DT. Results: The ME program improved (p < 0.05) systolic BP (−5.37%), diastolic BP (−5.67%), resting heart rate (−7.8%), agility (9.8%), lower body strength (27.8%), upper body strength (10.0%), and cardiorespiratory capacity (8.6%). BP and FC deteriorated after the DT period (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Nine months of multicomponent exercise were sufficient to improve functional capacity and promote benefits in blood pressure, although was not sufficient to allow BP to reach the normal values of older women. The three month DT period without exercise caused the reversal of BP improvements but maintained the functional capacity of older women.

Three-Month vs. One-Year Detraining Effects after Multicomponent Exercise Program in Hypertensive Older Women

“…Sobrinho et al [ 20 ] showed only 14 weeks of an METP combined with flexibility training is enough to promote increases in the flexibility of inactive older women and improvements in blood pressure. The hemodynamic and lipid profiles improved after the METP and were in line with the results of studies ( Table 3 ) [ 17 , 18 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ] that concluded that exercise helps older women regulate their blood pressure, triglycerides and total cholesterol, such as a study by Tofas et al [ 38 ] that reported significant improvements in SBP and DBP after 8 months of resistance training.…”

“…Furthermore, it shows that some of the benefits of exercise are maintained after three and twelve months. This study complements the published work [ 18 ] with the objective of mapping the volunteers who drop out of research.…”

“…Nascimento et al [ 37 ], with 14 weeks of detraining after resistance training, reported that blood pressure improved with training, and benefits were maintained after the detraining period. Comparing these results, we can suggest that older women with pre- to established hypertension can have different reactions to exercise cessation compared with normotensive older women [ 18 ].…”

“…The nine-month exercise program consisted of an METP performed twice a week for about sixty minutes per session, with strength, flexibility, aerobic endurance and balance exercises prescribed by a sports sciences specialist [ 10 , 11 , 20 ]. The program sessions followed the same structure [ 18 ]: warm-up (5–8 min), aerobic exercise (15–25 min), resistance exercise (15–20 min) and cool down (5–10 min). The warm-up included low-intensity walking and mobility exercises followed by the aerobic exercises that included aerobic choreography.…”

“…A type of physical exercise that is widely practiced in this population is the multicomponent exercise training program (METP), which results from a combination of aerobic, strength and flexibility training and which promotes benefits to the health of the elderly [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. In this age group, there are several barriers that influence exercise practices, but this exercise method results in high adhesion and adherence rates; one of the reasons for this is the socialization that results from group training in every session [ 19 , 20 ].…”