Physical exercise and antihypertensive drugs.
Interactions and interrelations between antihypertensive drugs (AHD) and physical exercise are discussed on the basis of experimental results and of literature data. In physically active subjects AHD should lower the arterial pressure not only at rest, but also during physical stress. On the other hand, antihypertensive treatment should not influence physical performance. The main groups of AHD which could by applied in predominantly young and otherwise healthy subjects are: Beta-receptor blockers are recommended as first choice since they have a marked lowering effect on exercise blood pressure, conversely they impair by the same mechanism sympathetic stress adaptation. The effect of diuretics and calcium antagonists on exercise pressure is generally small; however, it may vary greatly in individual cases. As an interesting new category ACE-inhibitors should be studied further. Most AHD may impair the performance capacity of competitive athletes; however, sometimes they are also used illicitly to improve performance. In contrast, the symptom-limited performance of hypertensives is generally improved by therapy.
Department of Sports Medicine, University of Dortmund, FRG.
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D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000187:drug effects; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000628:therapy*; D005082:Physical Exertion
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents