Does a single session of aerobic exercise improve nocturnal blood pressure dip in medication-controlled hypertensive adults?
A single session of moderate aerobic exercise does not acutely alter nocturnal blood pressure dipping patterns in adults with medically controlled hypertension.
BACKGROUND: Nocturnal blood pressure dipping is crucial for cardiovascular health, but the effect of exercise on this phenomenon is not well understood. This study aims to investigate how a single session of aerobic exercise impacts nocturnal blood pressure dipping in individuals with hypertension who are on medication. METHODS: Twenty hypertensive adults (67 ± 16 years) participated in a randomised, parallel-group clinical trial. They were randomly assigned to either an exercise or control group. Resting blood pressure was measured after a 20-minute period of comfortable seating in a calm environment. The exercise group performed 40 min of treadmill running/walking at an intensity of 60-70% of their reserve heart rate. The control group remained seated for an equivalent period with reading allowed. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was used to measure blood pressure over 24 h. Nocturnal dip was calculated by comparing the mean wakefulness and sleep blood pressure values. RESULTS: = 0.250). CONCLUSIONS: A single session of aerobic exercise does not impact the nocturnal dip in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in medication-controlled hypertensive individuals.
Lopez et al. (Wed,) studied this question.