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Dynamic resistance training may lower BP in patients with hypertension
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Dynamic resistance training could lead to BP reductions on par with reductions achieved through aerobic exercise, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The evidence, from a meta-analysis of 64 controlled studies (71 interventions) involving 2,344 participants (1,968 with pre- to established hypertension), is enough for the researchers to advise the modality be folded into clinical guidance.
“Our results suggest that the present exercise recommendations for hypertension should be revisited to include dynamic resistance training in addition to aerobic exercise training as a standalone therapeutic exercise option,” Hayley V. MacDonald, PhD, of the department of kinesiology at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, told Cardiology Today.
MacDonald and colleagues meta-analyzed data on the mostly white (57%), middle-aged (47 ± 19 years) population, composed of participants with overweight (26.8 ± 3.4 kg/m2) and prehypertension (126.7 ± 10.3 mm Hg/76.8 ± 8.7 mm Hg). Fifteen percent were on BP-lowering medication.
Compared with controls, participants performing moderate-intensity dynamic resistance training each week (2.8 ± 0.6 days) for several months (14.4 ± 7.9 weeks) reaped minimal to moderate decreases in systolic BP (–0.31; 95% CI, –0.43 to –0.19; –3 mm Hg), as well as diastolic BP (–0.3; 95% CI, –0.38 to –0.18; –2.1 mm Hg).
“Dynamic resistance training lowers resting BP in a dose-response pattern as a function of resting values from 5 mm Hg to 6 mm Hg for adults with hypertension to approximately 3 mm Hg for those with prehypertension to 0 mm Hg to 1 mm Hg for those with normal BP,” MacDonald said.
She called the notable benefits seen in nonwhite participants, including Asian, Black and Latino, as effective as — if not more than — aerobic exercise in lowering BP 10 mm Hg to 14 mm Hg.
The positive findings of this meta-analysis beg further, specifically tailored investigation into the use of resistance exercise as a therapeutic approach for all adults with elevated BP.
“Additional high-quality, controlled trials that involve racially and ethnically diverse adults with hypertension, examine BP as the primary study outcome and adequately report sample characteristics, dynamic resistance training intervention features and BP assessment methods are needed to confirm our findings,” MacDonald said. – by Allegra Tiver
For more information:
Hayley V. MacDonald, PhD, can be reached at the Department of Kinesiology, University of Alabama, 1006 Moore Hall, Box 870312, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487; email: hvmacdonald@ua.edu.
Disclosure: MacDonald reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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