Post-Exercise Hypotension: Effects of Acute And Chronic Isometric Handgrip in Well-Controlled Hypertensives

Isometric handgrip (IHG) training lowers resting blood pressure (BP) in individuals with hypertension, yet the effects of a session of IHG exercise on BP are unknown. In normotensives, a single session of IHG elicits a reduction in BP immediately following exercise (post-exercise hypotension, PEH). Therefore, we tested the hypotheses that, in hypertensives, a session of IHG would elicit PEH and that this response would be attenuated with IHG training. Twenty hypertensives (all medicated) were randomly assigned to an IHG training group (n=11; resting BP: 114 ± 13/61 ± 12 mmHg; mean ± SD) or a non-exercising control group (n=9; 118 ± 14/68 ± 4 mmHg). The IHG training group performed four 2-minute IHG contractions at 30% of maximal voluntary effort, three times per week for 8 weeks. BP was assessed (brachial artery oscillometry) prior to and for 22 hours following a session of IHG, before, during, and after the post-training period. At baseline, BP was not reduced following an IHG session in either group. These findings of which were upheld at mid- and post-training time points (all p ≥ 0.05). In conclusion, an IHG session does not elicit PEH in medicated hypertensives, and this does not change with chronic exposure to the IHG stimulus.