Postexercise hypotension is not sustained in normal and hypertensive humans.

Abstract

Blood pressure falls after a single session of exercise. The duration for which this fall in blood pressure persists is not known. Sustained hypotension after a single session of exercise may have important implications in the treatment of patients with mild hypertension. We studied 24 subjects (12 normotensive subjects and 12 patients with mild or borderline hypertension). Blood pressure was measured in the laboratory for 30 minutes before and for an hour after graded bicycle exercise to maximal voluntary capacity. Subjects then left the hospital and measured their blood pressures at home (three measurements every 2 hours) following a strict measurement protocol for the rest of the day (usually between 8 and 12 hours). These home blood pressure measurements were compared with home blood pressure measurements recorded at the same times on a nonexercise control day. At 30 minutes after the graded maximal exercise test, the hypertensive patients experienced a fall in blood pressure from 142±3.5/93±6.5 mm Hg (mean±SEM) to 124±4.5/79±2.8 mm Hg (/><0.01). For the normotensive subjects, blood pressure after exercise fell from 117±3.1/70±2.1 mm Hg to 109±3.1/ 62±2.8 mm Hg (/»<0.01). Despite these striking blood pressure reductions for the second half hour after exercise, blood pressure measurements recorded at home were not significantly different on the exercise and control days in either group. We conclude that although a single bout of exercise lowers blood pressure for a short (1-hour) period, this hypotension is not sustained. {Hypertension 1991;18:211-215) I n 1922, Schneider and Truesdell reported that standing blood pressures were lower 2 minutes after a step exercise protocol. 1 A subsequent anecdotal report by Fitzgerald 2 suggested that blood pressure in labile hypertension was reduced for 4-10 hours after 25 minutes of jogging. It has been proposed therefore that a single session of exercise once or twice a day may assist in controlling blood pressure purely on the basis of the hypotensive effect after exercise.2 -3 Sustained postexercise hypotension may also significantly affect interventional studies of blood pressure, especially studies involving the effects of exercise training. Indeed, the more recent studies on the effects of physical training on blood pressure have allowed 24-48 hours between the last session of exercise and blood pressure measurement.4 -7 However, despite extensive studies on the acute fall of blood pressure after exercise, the dura- tion of this blood pressure reduction and its possible role in the management of hypertension has not been systematically studied. We therefore examined whether hypotension after exercise persisted for the rest of the exercise day in normotensive and hypertensive subjects. Methods SubjectsWe studied 12 normotensive subjects (26.2±3.2 years of age; eight men and four women) and 12 mild and borderline hypertensive patients (32.4±3.8 years of age; nine men and three women). All patients and subjects had sedentary occupations and participated in occasional ...

Potential causes, mechanisms, and implications of post exercise hypotension

“…10,11,19,22,24,[31][32][33]35,41,[43][44][45][59][60][61]63,71,72 Treadmill exercise at similar intensities has also been documented to elicit PEH. 14,15,20,25,34,40,[55][56][57][58] Direct comparisons of the effect of exercise intensity have, for the most part, found that PEH occurs independent of exercise intensity.…”

“…9,16,31,44,49,57,61 Most studies have measured blood pressure for only 1-2 h following exercise 12,13,16,20,22,23,25,34,[36][37][38][39]55,58,75 and the majority of these have found a nadir in blood pressure during that time with a return or trend towards baseline pressure at the cessation of measurement.…”

“…There have been a handful of studies that have examined the time course of PEH using ambulatory monitoring. 15,34,38,41,44,56,61 We are aware of seven that have truly attempted to examine whether the hypotension is preserved during subsequent mild exercise or routine daily activities. Results from these studies are contradictory and may be confounded by the fact that post exercise activity was not controlled in all but one study, and that most investigators used intermittent auscultatory methods to determine blood pressure.…”

“…Furthermore, some studies failed to address the influences of diurnal variations in blood pressure by only comparing post-exercise blood pressure to a pre-exercise control value. 15,34,61 These studies failed to detect any long term reduction in blood pressure, while those comparing post exercise blood pressure to blood pressure following a control period of rest, in a free-living environment, have found significant decrements in blood pressure for up to 12.7 h in hypertensive individuals. 40,41,44 Again, no differences were found in normotensives.…”

The effects of exercise intensity on post exercise hypotension

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Treadmill exercise at similar intensities has also been shown to elicit PEH. Direct comparisons of the effect of exercise intensity on PEH have been limited to 40 and 70% of maximal exercise.…”