The effects of aquatic and land exercise on resting blood pressure and post-exercise hypotension response in elderly hypertensives

Abstract

Objective: This study compared resting blood pressure (BP) using ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) responses in two groups of subjects trained in land exercise (LE) and aquatic exercise (AE), and assessed post-exercise hypotension (PEH) using ABPM, after land- and aquatic-based exercises.

Methods: ABPM (24 hours) was used to measure the baseline BP in elderly hypertensive women trained in LE and AE and the PEH induced by exercise. For this, 40 subjects were evaluated at rest and after a land- or aquatic-based exercise session (aerobic: 75% of reserve heart rate combined with resistance exercise).

Results: The daytime BP was lower for AE [systolic BP (SBP) 124 ± 1.0 mmHg, diastolic BP (DBP) 70 ± 1.5 mmHg] than for LE (SBP 134 ± 0.9 mmHg, DBP 76 ± 0.9 mmHg), but there were no differences at night-time. The aquatic exercise-induced PEH in the second hour was maintained at the 24th hour post-exercise. For land exercise-induced PEH, it was maintained at the 12th hour post-exercise. The SBP and DBP were lower at the 24th hour for AE than for LE.

Conclusions: Elderly hypertensive people trained in AE had lower baseline BP during the daytime. SBP and DBP values were lower for individuals trained in AE, and their PEH was more rapid and longer lasting after AE.

Keywords: aquatic exercise; elderly; hypertension; land exercise.

Fig. 1

Study design. RHR: reserve heart rate; ABPM: ambulatory blood pressure measurement.

Fig. 2

Average SPB (A) and DBP (B) during the daytime, night-time, and over 24 hours. AE: aquatic exercise; LE: land exercise *p < 0.0001 when compared with AE, SPB daytime (AE 124 ± 4 mmHg, LE 134 ± 6 mmHg) ; #p < 0.0001 when compared with AE, DPB daytime (AE 70 ± 3 mmHg vs LE 76 ± 4 mmHg); &p < 0.02 when compared with AE, SPB 24 hours (AE 121 ± 5 mmHg vs LE 125 ± 10 mmHg)

Fig. 3

SBP (A) and DBP (B) PEH in the AE and LE groups at the second-, 12th- and 24th-hour time points. a: represents the difference between AE-PEH baseline and the time points, b: represents the difference between LE-PEH baseline and the time points, *represents the difference between the groups at the same time point. a: p < 0.001 when compared to AE-PEH at 0 hours (SBP/DBP AE-PEH: baseline (0 h) 155 ± 7/90 ± 4 mmHg, second hour 133 ± 15/76 ± 11 mmHg, 12th hour 129 ± 19/69 ± 11 mmHg, 24th hour 123 ± 14/66 ± 9 mmHg); b: p < 0.03 when compared to LE-PEH at 0 hours (SBP/DPB LE-PEH: baseline (0 h) 139 ± 5/85 ± 2 mmHg, 12th hour 122 ± 9/71 ± 8 mmHg); *p < 0.01 when compared with LE-PEH (DBP AE-PEH 66 ± 9 mmHg, LE-PEH 80 ± 7 mmHg). AE: aquatic exercise; LE: land exercise; PEH: post-exercise hypotension. Two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni correction, data expressed as mean ± SD. Interaction for SBP: p = 0.0544, DBP: p = 0.0099.

Fig. 4

Magnitude of PEH in the exercise groups AE-PEH and LE-PEH for SBP (A) and DBP (B) at the second, 12th and 24th hour. PEH: post-exercise hypotension. #p < 0.001 when compared with LE-PEH 24th hour (SBP AE-PEH –31 ± 10 mmHg vs LE-PEH –10 ± 10 mmHg); *p < 0.01 when compared with LE-PEH 24th hour (DBP AE-PEH –23 ± 9 mmHg vs LE-PEH –10 ± 8 mmHg). Unpaired t-test with Welch’s correction, data expressed as mean ± SD.