A 45-minute water aerobics session in hypertensive elderly women caused an immediate rise in systolic blood pressure of 17.4 mmHg (P<0.001) compared to control, returning to baseline within 20 minutes.
RCT (n=50)
Does a 45-minute water aerobics session affect acute blood pressure in hypertensive elderly women compared to a no-exercise control session?
Water aerobics causes a safe, transient increase in blood pressure in hypertensive elderly women, with levels returning to baseline within 10-20 minutes without post-exercise hypotension.
Mean Difference: 17.4
p-value: p=<0.001
Water aerobics exercise is widely recommended for elderly people. However, little is known about the acute effects on hemodynamic variables. Thus, we assessed the effects of a water aerobic session on blood pressure in hypertensive elderly women. Fifty hypertensive elderly women aged 67.8 ± 4.1 years, 1.5 ± 0.6 m high and BMI 28.6 ± 3.9 kg/m2, participated in a crossover clinical trial. The experiment consisted of a 45-minute water aerobics session (70%–75% HRmax adjusted for the aquatic environment) (ES) and a control session (no exercise for 45 minutes) (CS). Heart rate was monitored using a heart rate monitor and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) measurements were taken using a semi-automatic monitor before and immediately after the sessions, and at 10, 20 and 30 minutes thereafter. It was using a generalized estimating equation (GEE) with Bonferroni’s post-hoc test (p < 0.05). At the end of the experimental session, ES showed a rise in SBP of 17.4 mmHg (14.3%, p < 0.001) and DBP of 5.4 mmHg (7.8%, p < 0.001) compared to CS. At 10 minutes after exercise, BP declined in ES by a greater magnitude than in CS (SBP 7.5 mmHg, 6.2%, p = 0.005 and DBP 3.8 mmHg, 5.5%, p = 0.013). At 20 minutes after exercise and thereafter, SBP and DBP were similar in both ES and CS. In conclusion, BP returned to control levels within 10–20 minutes remaining unchanged until 30 minutes after exercise, and post-exercise hypotension was not observed. Besides, BP changed after exercise was a safe rise of small magnitude for hypertensive people.
Cunha et al. (Mon,) conducted a rct in Hypertension (n=50). Water aerobics session vs. Control session (no exercise for 45 minutes) was evaluated on Systolic blood pressure immediately after the session (MD 17.4 mmHg, p=<0.001). A 45-minute water aerobics session in hypertensive elderly women caused an immediate rise in systolic blood pressure of 17.4 mmHg (P<0.001) compared to control, returning to baseline within 20 minutes.