Key result
Aquatic high-intensity interval exercise lowers post-exercise and 24-hour blood pressure in hypertensive postmenopausal women.
Why the study?
While physical exercise promotes post-exercise hypotension to control blood pressure in hypertensive individuals, studies on acute blood pressure and salivary nitrite responses after aquatic high-intensity interval exercise in hypertensive postmenopausal women were lacking.
Does a 24-minute session of aquatic high-intensity interval exercise reduce acute blood pressure and alter salivary nitrite responses in hypertensive postmenopausal women?
RCT (n=22)
Crossover
Does a 24-minute session of aquatic high-intensity interval exercise reduce acute blood pressure and alter salivary nitrite responses in hypertensive postmenopausal women?
A single 24-minute session of aquatic high-intensity interval exercise acutely reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure for 60 minutes and systolic blood pressure for 24 hours in postmenopausal hypertensive women.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Acute aquatic HIIE effects on BP and nitrite in hypertensive postmenopausal women remain inconclusive; leaves open clinical adoption pending larger trials.
Background/objective A physical exercise session promotes post-exercise hypotension, an important effect for the control of blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive individuals. However, there is a lack of studies on BP responses after a session of aquatic high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE). Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the acute effects of HIIE on cardiovascular and salivary nitrite responses in hypertensive postmenopausal women. Methods A clinical, crossover, and randomized trial was conducted with 22 postmenopausal hypertensive women (58 ± 4.5 years). Two sessions took place: HIIE and control (CON), each lasting a total of 24 minutes. Evaluations were divided into pre-intervention, post-laboratory intervention, and post-ambulatory intervention periods. The evaluated variables included resting and ambulatory BP, BP reactivity, heart rate (HR), and salivary nitrite. Statistical analysis included generalized estimating equation, paired t-test, area under the curve (AUC), and Wilcoxon test, with α = 0.05. Results There was a reduction in the AUC for both systolic and diastolic BP during the 60 minutes and systolic BP during the 24 hours after the HIIE session compared to CON (p=0.04). There was no difference in 24-hour BP, BP variability and reactivity, HR variability, and nitrite (p>0.05). Conclusion The HIIE session to a reduction in systolic and diastolic BP for 60 minutes and in systolic BP for 24 hours in postmenopausal hypertensive women. The study reinforces that interval aquatic exercise is effective for acute BP reduction, providing an important clinical response for hypertensive individuals.
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Sisconeto et al. (2026) conducted an RCT in Hypertension in postmenopausal women (n=22). Aquatic high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) vs. Control session (24 minutes) was evaluated on Area under the curve for systolic and diastolic blood pressure at 60 minutes and systolic blood pressure at 24 hours (p=0.04). Aquatic high-intensity interval exercise reduced blood pressure AUC over 60 minutes and 24-hour systolic BP AUC vs control in hypertensive postmenopausal women.
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