Can blood pressure decrease after maximal exercise test predict the blood pressure lowering effect of aerobic training in treated hypertensive men?

Abstract

The acute decrease in blood pressure (BP) observed after a session of exercise (called post-exercise hypotension) has been proposed as a tool to predict the chronic reduction in BP induced by aerobic training. Therefore, this study investigated whether post-exercise hypotension observed after a maximal exercise test is associated to the BP-lowering effect of aerobic training in treated hypertensives. Thirty hypertensive men (50 ± 8 years) who were under consistent anti-hypertensive treatment underwent a maximal exercise test (15 watts/min until exhaustion), and post-exercise hypotension was determined by the difference between BP measured before and at 30 min after the test. Subsequently, the patients underwent 10 weeks of aerobic training (3 times/week, 45 min/session at moderate intensity), and the BP-lowering effect of training was assessed by the difference in BP measured before and after the training period. Pearson correlations were employed to evaluate the associations. Post-maximal exercise test hypotension was observed for systolic and mean BPs (-8 ± 6 and -2 ± 4 mmHg, all P < 0.05). Aerobic training reduced clinic systolic/diastolic BPs (-5 ± 6/-2 ± 3 mmHg, both P < 0.05) as well as awake and 24 h mean BPs (-2 ± 6 and -2 ± 5 mmHg, all P < 0.05). No significant correlation was detected between post-exercise hypotension and the BP-lowering effect of training either for clinic or ambulatory BPs (r values ranging from 0.00 to 0.32, all p > 0.05). Post-exercise hypotension assessed 30 min after a maximal exercise test cannot be used to predict the BP-lowering effect of aerobic training in treated hypertensive men.