Acute Aerobic Exercise Reduces 24-H Ambulatory Blood Pressure Levels in Long-Term-Treated Hypertensive Patients

BACKGROUND: Even with anti-hypertensive therapy, it is difficult to maintain optimal systemic blood pressure values in hypertensive patients. Exercise may reduce blood pressure in untreated hypertensive, but its effect when combined with long-term anti-hypertensive therapy remains unclear. Our purpose was to evaluate the acute effects of a single session of aerobic exercise on the blood pressure of long-term-treated hypertensive patients. METHODS: Fifty treated hypertensive patients (18/32 male/female; 46.5±8.2 years; Body mass index: 27.8±4.7 kg/m²) were monitored for 24 h with respect to ambulatory (A) blood pressure after an aerobic exercise session (post-exercise) and a control period (control) in random order. Aerobic exercise consisted of 40 minutes on a cycle-ergometer, with the mean exercise intensity at 60% of the patient's reserve heart rate. RESULTS: Post-exercise ambulatory blood pressure was reduced for 24 h systolic (126±8.6 vs. 123.1±8.7 mmHg, p=0.004) and diastolic blood pressure (81.9±8 vs. 79.8±8.5 mmHg, p=0.004), daytime diastolic blood pressure (85.5±8.5 vs. 83.9±8.8 mmHg, p=0.04), and nighttime S (116.8±9.9 vs. 112.5±9.2 mmHg, p<0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (73.5±8.8 vs. 70.1±8.4 mmHg, p<0.001). Post-exercise daytime systolic blood pressure also tended to be reduced (129.8±9.3 vs. 127.8±9.4 mmHg, p=0.06). These post-exercise decreases in ambulatory blood pressure increased the percentage of patients displaying normal 24h systolic blood pressure (58% vs. 76%, p=0.007), daytime systolic blood pressure (68% vs. 82%, p=0.02), and nighttime diastolic blood pressure (56% vs. 72%, p=0.02). Nighttime systolic blood pressure also tended to increase (58% vs. 80%, p=0.058). CONCLUSION: A single bout of aerobic exercise reduced 24h ambulatory blood pressure levels in long-term-treated hypertensive patients and increased the percentage of patients reaching normal ambulatory blood pressure values. These effects suggest that aerobic exercise may have a potential role in blood pressure management of long-term-treated hypertensive

Acute aerobic exercise reduces 24-h ambulatory blood pressure levels in long-term-treated hypertensive patients

BACKGROUND: Even with anti-hypertensive therapy, it is difficult to maintain optimal systemic blood pressure values in hypertensive patients. Exercise may reduce blood pressure in untreated hypertensive, but its effect when combined with long-term anti-hypertensive therapy remains unclear. Our purpose was to evaluate the acute effects of a single session of aerobic exercise on the blood pressure of long-term-treated hypertensive patients. METHODS: Fifty treated hypertensive patients (18/32 male/female; 46.5±8.2 years; Body mass index: 27.8±4.7 kg/m²) were monitored for 24 h with respect to ambulatory (A) blood pressure after an aerobic exercise session (post-exercise) and a control period (control) in random order. Aerobic exercise consisted of 40 minutes on a cycle-ergometer, with the mean exercise intensity at 60% of the patient's reserve heart rate. RESULTS: Post-exercise ambulatory blood pressure was reduced for 24 h systolic (126±8.6 vs. 123.1±8.7 mmHg, p=0.004) and diastolic blood pressure (81.9±8 vs. 79.8±8.5 mmHg, p=0.004), daytime diastolic blood pressure (85.5±8.5 vs. 83.9±8.8 mmHg, p=0.04), and nighttime S (116.8±9.9 vs. 112.5±9.2 mmHg,

AGE DOES NOT AFFECT EXERCISE INTENSITY PROGRESSION AMONG WOMEN

Ciolac, EG, Brech, GC, and Greve, JMD. Age does not affect exercise intensity progression among women. J Strength Cond Res 24(11): 3023-3031, 2010-It has been recommended that the intensity of exercise training (ET) should progress slowly with lower increments in older than in young people. However, scientific evidence supporting this recommendation is lacking. Our aim was to examine possible influences of age on exercise intensity progression in healthy women. Seventeen young (29.1 +/- 5.7 years) and 16 older women (64.5 +/- 4.5 years) underwent 13 weeks of ET consisting of cycle ergometry (CE, 65-75% of reserve heart rate), whole-body resistance exercise (RE, 60% of 1 repetition maximum [1RM]), and stretching. Muscle strength was assessed before and after ET by the 1RM. Cycle ergometry and RE workloads were recorded for each exercise session, and increases of 5-10% were made whenever adaptation occurred. Absolute muscle strength after ET improved (p < 0.001) in both groups, and there were no significant differences between groups. Relative exercise intensity progression was not significantly different between groups for RE (Pearson`s correlation = 0.98 +/- 0.01), but it was greater in older women for CE (p = 0.047). The ET was safe because no injuries or major muscle pain was observed in either group. These results suggest that healthy older women are capable of exercising and increasing exercise intensity in the same way as young women.Sociedade de Cardiologia do Estado de Sao Paul

Age Affects Exercise-Induced Improvements in Heart Rate Response to Exercise

The aim of the present study was to analyze the effects of age on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscle strength and heart rate (HR) response to exercise adaptation in women in response to a long-term twice-weekly combined aerobic and resistance exercise program. 85 sedentary women, divided into young (YG; n=22, 30.3±6.2 years), early middle-aged (EMG; n=28, 44.1±2.5 years), late middle-aged (LMG; n=20, 56.7±3.5 years) and older (OG; n=15, 71.4±6.9 years) groups, had their CRF, muscle strength (1-repetition maximum test) and HR response to exercise (graded exercise test) measured before and after 12 months of combined exercise training. Exercise training improved CRF and muscle strength in all age groups (P<0.05), and no significant differences were observed between groups. Exercise training also improved resting HR and recovery HR in YG and EMG (P<0.05), but not in LMG and OG. Maximal HR did not change in any group. Combined aerobic and resistance training at a frequency of 2 days/week improves CRF and muscle strength throughout the lifespan. However, exercise-induced improvements in the HR recovery response to exercise may be impaired in late middle-aged and older women. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG

Acute effects of continuous and interval aerobic exercise on 24-h ambulatory blood pressure in long-term treated hypertensive patients

Background: Despite antihypertensive therapy, it is difficult to maintain optimal systemic blood pressure (BP) values in hypertensive patients (HPT). Exercise may reduce BP in untreated HPT. However, evidence regarding its effect in long-term antihypertensive therapy is lacking. Our purpose was to evaluate the acute effects of 40-minute continuous (CE) or interval exercise (IE) using cycle ergometers on BP in long-term treated HPT. Methods: Fifty-two treated HPT were randomized to CE (n=26) or IE (n=26) protocols. CE was performed at 60% of reserve heart rate (HR). IE alternated consecutively 2 min at 50% reserve HR with 1 min at 80%. Two 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring were made after exercise (postexercise) or a nonexercise control period (control) in random order. Results: CE reduced mean 24-h systolic (S) BP (2.6 +/- 6.6 mm Hg, p-0.05) and diastolic (D) BP (2.3 +/- 4.6, p-0.01), and nighttime SBP (4.8 +/- 6.4, p < 0.001) and DBP (4.6 +/- 5.2 mm Hg, p-0.001). IE reduced 24-h SBP (2.8 +/- 6.5, p-0.03) and nighttime SBP (3.4 +/- 7.2, p-0.02), and tended to reduce nighttime DBP (p=0.06). Greater reductions occurred in higher BP levels. Percentage of normal ambulatory BP values increased after CE (24-h: 42% to 54%; daytime: 42% to 61%; nighttime: 61% to 69%) and IE (24-h: 31% to 46%; daytime: 54% to 61%; nighttime: 46% to 69%). Conclusion: CE and IE reduced ambulatory BP in treated HPT, increasing the number of patients reaching normal ambulatory BP values. These effects suggest that continuous and interval aerobic exercise may have a role in BP management in treated HPT. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.FAPESP Funda ao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo, Brazi

Effects of high-intensity aerobic interval training vs. moderate exercise on hemodynamic, metabolic and neuro-humoral abnormalities of young normotensive women at high familial risk for hypertension

Exercise training has an important role in the prevention and treatment of hypertension, but its effects on the early metabolic and hemodynamic abnormalities observed in normotensive offspring of hypertensive parents (FH+) have not been studied. We compared high-intensity interval (aerobic interval training, AIT) and moderate-intensity continuous exercise training (CMT) with regard to hemodynamic, metabolic and hormonal variables in FH+ subjects. Forty-four healthy FH+ women (25.0+/-4.4 years) randomized to control (ConFH+) or to a three times per week equal-volume AIT (80-90% of VO(2MAX)) or CMT (50-60% of VO(2MAX)) regimen, and 15 healthy women with normotensive parents (ConFH-; 25.3+/-3.1 years) had their hemodynamic, metabolic and hormonal variables analyzed at baseline and after 16 weeks of follow-up. Ambulatorial blood pressure (ABP), glucose and cholesterol levels were similar among all groups, but the FH+ groups showed higher insulin, insulin sensitivity, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), norepinephrine and endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels and lower nitrite/ nitrate (NOx) levels than ConFH- subjects. AIT and CMT were equally effective in improving ABP (P<0.05), insulin and insulin sensitivity (P<0.001); however, AIT was superior in improving cardiorespiratory fitness (15 vs. 8%; P<0.05), PWV (P<0.01), and BP, norepinephrine, ET-1 and NOx response to exercise (P<0.05). Exercise intensity was an important factor in improving cardiorespiratory fitness and reversing hemodynamic, metabolic and hormonal alterations involved in the pathophysiology of hypertension. These findings may have important implications for the exercise training programs used for the prevention of inherited hypertensive disorder. Hypertension Research (2010) 33, 836-843; doi:10.1038/hr.2010.72; published online 7 May 2010Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[2004/00568-8]Sociedade de Cardiologia do Estado de Sao PauloConselho Nacional de Pesquisa (CNPq)[304733/2008-3

Supplemental Material - Gamification as a Tool for Promoting Physical Exercise and Healthy Eating Habits in Healthcare Worker Women: Effects on Cardiometabolic Health and Physical Fitness at Workplace

Supplemental Material for Gamification as a Tool for Promoting Physical Exercise and Healthy Eating Habits in Healthcare Worker Women: Effects on Cardiometabolic Health and Physical Fitness at Workplace by Lucas B. Gimenez, Vanessa T. do Amaral, Gabriel Locato, Isabela R. Marçal, Artur J. T. Ferron, and Emmanuel G. Ciolac in American Journal of Health Promotion</p