Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 Jan;20(1):56-64.
doi: 10.1111/jch.13157. Epub 2018 Jan 16.

The exaggerated blood pressure response to exercise in the sub-acute phase after stroke is not affected by aerobic exercise

Magnus O Wijkman  1 , Klas Sandberg  1   2 , Marie Kleist  2 , Lars Falk  3   4   5 , Paul Enthoven  3   6
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The exaggerated blood pressure response to exercise in the sub-acute phase after stroke is not affected by aerobic exercise

Magnus O Wijkman et al. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2018 Jan.

Abstract

The prevalence of an exaggerated exercise blood pressure (BP) response is unknown in patients with subacute stroke, and it is not known whether an aerobic exercise program modulates this response. The authors randomized 53 patients (27 women) with subacute stroke to 12 weeks of twice-weekly aerobic exercise (n = 29) or to usual care without scheduled physical exercise (n = 24). At baseline, 66% of the patients exhibited an exaggerated exercise BP response (peak systolic BP ≥210 mm Hg in men and ≥190 mm Hg in women) during a symptom-limited ergometer exercise test. At follow-up, patients who had been randomized to the exercise program achieved higher peak work rate, but peak systolic BP remained unaltered. Among patients with a recent stroke, it was common to have an exaggerated systolic BP response during exercise. This response was not altered by participation in a 12-week program of aerobic exercise.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02107768.

Keywords: exercise/hypertension; lifestyle modification/hypertension; stroke; stroke prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scatterplot of resting systolic blood pressure vs peak systolic blood pressure during a symptom‐limited ergometer exercise test performed at baseline in 53 patients in the subacute phase after a stroke. Pearson correlation coefficient r = .355 (P = .009)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distributions of peak systolic blood pressures during an ergometer exercise test performed at baseline in 53 patients in the subacute phase after a stroke. Upper panel, women (n = 27); lower panel, men (n = 26)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cornelissen VA, Buys R, Smart NA. Endurance exercise beneficially affects ambulatory blood pressure: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. J Hypertens. 2013;31:639‐648. - PubMed
    1. Gordon NF, Gulanick M, Costa F, et al. Physical activity and exercise recommendations for stroke survivors: an American Heart Association scientific statement from the Council on Clinical Cardiology, Subcommittee on Exercise, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Prevention; the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism; and the Stroke Council. Circulation. 2004;109:2031‐2041. - PubMed
    1. Nishioka Y, Sashika H, Andho N, Tochikubo O. Relation between 24‐h heart rate variability and blood pressure fluctuation during exercise in stroke patients. Circ J. 2005;69:717‐721. - PubMed
    1. Kurl S, Laukkanen JA, Rauramaa R, et al. Systolic blood pressure response to exercise stress test and risk of stroke. Stroke. 2001;32:2036‐2041. - PubMed
    1. Barone BB, Wang NY, Bacher AC, Stewart KJ. Decreased exercise blood pressure in older adults after exercise training: contributions of increased fitness and decreased fatness. Br J Sports Med. 2009;43:52‐56. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data