title: Effects of mild physical activity, atenolol and the combination on ambulatory blood pressure in hypertensive subjects.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether beta-blocker treatment could enhance the effect of a mild physical training programme upon blood pressure.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 12 hypertensive subjects (mean age: 40.3 years) a prospective randomized Latin square-design trial was performed with three treatments: physical training and placebo tablets; atenolol 50 mg once a day and inactivity; and physical training and atenolol 50 mg once a day.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Training significantly increased maximal ventilatory oxygen consumption (VO2MAX), and there was a decrease in ambulatory diastolic blood pressure (DBP) which did not reach statistical significance. Atenolol alone significantly reduced ambulatory systolic blood pressure (SBP) and DBP. Atenolol alone did not reduce VO2MAX. The combination of training and atenolol resulted in an increase in VO2MAX compared with atenolol alone, but no additional significant fall in blood pressure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Atenolol did not enhance the effect of physical training upon blood pressure and had little if any effect upon the training-induced increase in exercise tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radaelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piepoli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adamopoulos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pipilis
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Casadei
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Coats
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001262:Atenolol / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D001262:Atenolol