The Beneficial Effect of Regular Endurance Exercise Training on Blood Pressure and Quality of Life in Patients with Hypertension

Abstract

Regular aerobic exercise can reduce blood pressure and is recommended as part of the lifestyle modification to reduce high blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. Hypertension itself, or/and pharmacological treatment for hypertension is associated with adverse effects on some aspects of quality of life. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of regular endurance exercise training on quality of life and blood pressure. Patients with mild to moderate hypertension (systolic blood pressure 140-180 or diastolic blood pressure 90-110 mm Hg) were randomized to a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise group training for 3 sessions/week over 10 weeks or to a non-exercising control group. Health-related quality of life was assessed with the Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36) at baseline and after 6 and 10 weeks. In the 102 subjects (47 male, mean age 47 years) who completed the study, reductions in blood pressure in the exercise group at 10 weeks (-13.1/-6.3 mm Hg) were significant (P < 0.001) compared to baseline and to the control group (-1.5/+6.0 mm Hg). Unlike the control group, the exercise group showed an increase in exercise capacity from 8.2 +/- 1.6 to 10.8 +/- 2.2 METS (P < 0.01) and showed higher scores on 7 out of 8 subscales (P < 0.05) of the SF-36. Improvement in bodily pain and general health sub-scores correlated with reduction in systolic blood pressure. Regular endurance training improves both blood pressure and quality of life in hypertensive patients and should be encouraged more widely.

Blood pressure responses after a session of functional training in young adults and the elderly: a pilot study

“…The majority of studies show that aerobic exercises are more effective in promoting PEH in comparison with resistance exercises. These values range from 2 to 17 and from 2 to 7 mm Hg for systolic and diastolic BP, respectively, in aerobic exercises [4,32]. For resistance exercises, most studies prove a reduction of 2-13 mm Hg for systolic BP and 2-7.9 mm Hg for diastolic BP [23,[32][33][34][35][36].…”

“…A training session is composed of free unstable exercises and owing to this peculiarity they are performed with light loads which can progress to heavier ones (but still low in relation to resistance exercises) [2]. Isometric contractions generate high request of the trunk musculature (abdominal, paraspinal, gluteus, and pelvis), the region where the foundations of the body are located, which consequently favours adequate postural control [3,4].…”

Effects of Aerobic Versus Resistance Training on Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Patients

“…When compare the effect of different exercise intensities, low intensity exercise was more effective in lowering blood pressure than was high intensity exercise [14].…”

“…Jen Chen et al [14] found the effect of regular endurance exercise training on blood pressure and quality of life in patients with hypertension and found that low to moderate intensity exercise is effective in lowering blood pressure. When compare the effect of different exercise intensities, low intensity exercise was more effective in lowering blood pressure than was high intensity exercise [14].…”

Efeito do exercício fisico aeróbio sobre os componentes fibroelástico e colágeno da aorta de ratos normotensos e hipertensos, sedentários e treinados.

“…Assim, diversos estudos relatam uma redução da PA em animais e humanos submetidos ao exercício físico (KOKKINOS et al, 2001;WALLACE, 2003;TSAI et al, 2004;HORTA et al, 2005). Isto talvez se explique pela diminuição da resistência vascular periférica onde o sistema nervoso simpático e o sistema renina-angiotensina parecem estar envolvidos.…”