title: Hypertensive men who exercise regularly have lower rate of cardiovascular mortality.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Regular exercise has been associated in prospective studies with reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess in a cohort study whether there is a similar protective effect of regular exercise among hypertensive individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based prospective cohort study. Spare time physical activity was assessed by structured interview.
  
  
  METHODS
  Malmo, Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy men (n = 642) born in 1914. A baseline examination took place in 1969-1970.
  
  
  METHODS
  All-cause and cardiovascular mortality rates during 25 years of follow-up in relation to blood pressure and other risk factors for atherosclerosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One-hundred (16%) men reported vigorous spare time physical activity. In this group, 31 had hypertension (blood pressure >160/95 mm Hg or treatment for hypertension), 47 were smokers and 39 had hyperlipidaemia. Among the 173 men with hypertension, vigorous physical activity was associated with markedly reduced rates of all-cause (17.3 versus 40.0 deaths per 1000 person-years) and cardiovascular mortality (6.3 versus 21.0 deaths per 1000 person-years). The risk reductions associated with exercise remained statistically significant after adjustment for smoking, systolic blood pressure and antihypertensive therapy. The relative risk was 0.43 (confidence interval 0.22-0.82) for total mortality and 0.33 (confidence interval 0.11 -0.94) for CVD mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People who regularly perform physical activity constitute a heterogeneous group with regard to their exposure to known cardiovascular risk factors. Our results support the view that regular physical activity is associated with a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease and death and suggest that this protective effect may be enhanced among hypertensive individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Malmö University Hospital, Lund University, Sweden. Gunnar.Engstrom@smi.mas.lu.se
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Engström
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hedblad
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Janzon
mesh_terms: D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002423:Cause of Death; D015444:Exercise; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology