Key result
Adding exercise to antihypertensives lowers systolic blood pressure by ~6 mmHg more than medications alone.
Why the study?
The comparative effects of exercise therapy alone and combined with calcium channel blockers or angiotensin receptor blockers in hypertensive patients were unclear.
Meta-Analysis (n=342)
Adding exercise to antihypertensives should not yet change practice; leaves open confirmation of modest SBP benefits in randomized trials.
We compared the effects of exercise alone and in combination with a calcium channel blocker (amlodipine) or an angiotensin receptor blocker (valsartan) in hypertensive patients. Our results indicated that exercise therapy exerted similar effects on systolic blood pressure whether administered alone or in combination with amlodipine or valsartan; however, diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly when exercise therapy was combined with amlodipine. However, when combined with valsartan, exercise therapy additionally improved the lipid profile of hypertensive patients. Thus, this study enabled the identification of the drugs suitable for combination with exercise therapy in the treatment of hypertensive patients.
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Ohta et al. (2012) conducted a meta-analysis in Hypertension (n=342). Exercise combined with antihypertensive medication vs. Medication alone was evaluated on Systolic blood pressure reduction (Mean difference 6.04 mm Hg, p=<0.01). Exercise combined with antihypertensive medications did not yield additive blood pressure reductions, but the combination significantly reduced systolic blood pressure by 6.04 mm Hg more than medications alone in patients with hypertension.
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