title: Acute aerobic exercise reduces 24-h ambulatory blood pressure levels in long-term-treated hypertensive patients.
abstract: 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/m(2)) 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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina, Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. egciolac@hcnet.usp.br
authors.forename: Emmanuel G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Ciolac
authors.forename: Guilherme V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: Veridiana M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: D'Avila
authors.forename: Luiz A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Bortolotto
authors.forename: Egídio L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Doria
authors.forename: Edimar A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Bocchi
mesh_terms: D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors