High-Intensity Interval Training Decreases Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity in Men With Essential Hypertension and in Normotensive Controls

Abstract

Exercise training is a cornerstone in reducing blood pressure (BP) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in individuals with essential hypertension. Highintensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to be a time efficient alternative to classical continuous training in lowering BP in essential hypertension, but the effect of HIIT on MSNA levels has never been investigated. Leg MSNA responsiveness to 6 weeks of HIIT was examined in 14 hypertensive men (HYP; age: 62 ± 7 years, night time BP: 136 ± 12/83 ± 8 mmHg, BMI: 28 ± 3 kg/m 2), and 10 age-matched normotensive controls (NORM; age: 60 ± 8 years, night time BP: 116 ± 2/68 ± 4 mmHg and BMI: 27 ± 3 kg/m 2). Before training, MSNA levels were not different between HYP and NORM (burst frequency (BF): 41.0 ± 10.3 vs. 33.6 ± 10.6 bursts/min and burst incidence (BI): 67.5 ± 19.7 vs. 64.2 ± 17.0 bursts/100 heart beats, respectively). BF decreased (P < 0.05) with training by 13 and 5% in HYP and NORM, respectively, whereas BI decreased by 7% in NORM only, with no difference between groups. Training lowered (P < 0.05) night-time mean arterial-and diastolic BP in HYP only (100 ± 8 vs. 97 ± 5, and 82 ± 6 vs. 79 ± 5 mmHg, respectively). The change in HYP was greater (P < 0.05) compared to NORM. Training reduced (P < 0.05) body mass, visceral fat mass, and fat percentage similarly within-and between groups, with no change in fat free mass. Training increased (P < 0.05)VO 2-max in NORM only. Six weeks of HIIT lowered resting MSNA levels in age-matched hyper-and normotensive men, which was paralleled by a significant reduction in BP in the hypertensive men.

Is the Pannexin-1 Channel a Mechanism Underlying Hypertension in Humans? a Translational Study of Human Hypertension

“…Measurements were made with an isolated tungsten needle inserted into the peroneal nerve, posterior to the fibular head. 11,12 The accessibility of the peroneal nerve was assessed by external stimulation (0–10 mA, 1 Hz, and pulse 0.2 ms) with an isolated stimulator (stimulus isolator, ADInstruments). Upon assessing nerve accessibility, an isolated tungsten electrode (FHC, Bowdoin, ME, United States) was inserted into the peroneal nerve posterior to the fibular head.…”

Features of functional changes in blood vessels during the period of early recovery after static physical exercise

“…Perhaps this phenomenon ensures the creation of the most optimal conditions for more intensive blood flow during active muscle work [4]. Most likely, this is a consequence of reduced sympathetic nervous influences that provide basal vascular tone [7,12], and can also be explained by the systematic powerful release of vasodilator metabolites from the hypertrophied skeletal muscles of bodybuilders during regular strength training.…”

Advances in pathogenesis and treatment of essential hypertension

“…However, compared with other antihypertensive agents, such as diuretics, ACEi, ARB and CCBs, beta-blockers appear to be less protective against stroke and overall mortality, and are more often used as additional drugs for hypertensive patients (74). Exercise is an important way of controlling sympathetic hypertension, and studies have confirmed that high-intensity interval training (e.g., three 60min exercise sessions per week for 4 months) can reduce BP by reducing MSNA (75,76).…”