Why the study?
The acute and chronic effects of strength training on blood pressure and heart rate variability had never been reviewed collectively concerning the variables that comprise a strength training program.
Does strength training improve blood pressure and heart rate variability in healthy patients or patients with chronic disease?
Does strength training improve blood pressure and heart rate variability in healthy patients or patients with chronic disease?
Strength training significantly reduces blood pressure acutely, with effects potentially potentiated by higher volume and multijoint exercises, while inducing sympathetic predominance in heart rate variability.
Strength training acutely lowers BP across protocols; confirms robustness and extends applicability to diverse populations.
Strength training (ST) has been studied for acute and chronic effects on blood pressure (BP) and heart rate variability (HRV). These effects have never been reviewed collectively concerning the variables that comprise a ST program. Therefore, this review aims to examine the manipulation of ST variables (i.e., load intensity, number of sets and repetitions, exercise order, and rest interval length) on BP and HRV after a session and a long-term program. The BP reduced significantly after an ST session independently of the load intensity, the number of sets and repetitions, the rest interval length, the mode, and the participant characteristic (healthy patients or patients with chronic disease). However, a high number of sets and repetitions, prioritizing multijoint exercises, with longer rest interval lengths between sets and exercises may potentiate these effects. In the HRV analyses, most of the trials showed a sympathetic predominance after an ST session. Hence, it is reasonable to confirm that central adjustments are responsible to control hemodynamics after an ST session.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Corso et al. (2021) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: