Does Resistance Training with Blood Flow Restriction Affect Blood Pressure and Cardiac Autonomic Modulation in Older Adults?

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(3): 410-422, 2021. Resistance training (RT) with blood flow restriction (BFR) appears to accelerate muscle hypertrophy and strength gains in older populations. However, the training-related effects of RT with BFR upon blood pressure (BP) and cardiac autonomic modulation in the elderly remains unclear. The objective of this study is to compare the chronic effects of low-intensity RT performed with soft BFR (BFR) vs. high-intensity (HI) and low-intensity RT (CON) without BFR on BP and heart rate variability (HRV) indices in older adults. Thirty-two physically inactive participants (72 ± 7 yrs) performed RT for upper and lower limbs (50-min sessions, 3 times/week) for 12 weeks, being assigned into three groups: a) BFR; 30% of 1 repetition maximum (RM) with BFR corresponding to 50% of arterial occlusion pressure; b) HI; 70% of 1RM without BFR; c) CON; 30% of 1 RM without BFR. Resting BP and HRV were assessed at rest in the supine position, before and after exercise interventions. Systolic BP (Δ = -7.9 ± 8.0 mmHg; p = 0.002; effect size = 0.62), diastolic BP (Δ = -5.0 ± 6.0 mmHg; p = 0.007; effect size = 0.67) and mean arterial pressure (Δ = -6.3 ± 6.5 mmHg; p = 0.003/effect size = 0.77) reduced after BFR, remaining unaltered in HI and CON. HRV indices of sympathetic and vagal modulation did not change in all groups (p ≥ 0.07 for all comparisons). 12-wk RT with low intensity and relatively soft BFR substantially reduced BP at rest in older adults vs. traditional RT performed with either low or high intensity. Those reductions were not parallel to changes in autonomic modulation.