Hypotensive response after water-walking and land-walking exercise sessions in healthy trained and untrained women

Abstract

Daniel Rodriguez1, Valter Silva2, Jonato Prestes3, Roberta Luksevicius Rica4, Andrey Jorge Serra5, Danilo Sales Bocalini6, Francisco Luciano Pontes Junior71São Judas Tadeu University, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; 2College of Physical Education of Sorocaba, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil; 3Graduation Program in Physical Education, Catholic University of Brasilia, Brasilia-DF, Brazil; 4Department of Physical Education, Arbos College, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil; 5Department of Physical Education and Laboratory of Rehabilitation Science, Nove de Julho University, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; 6Department of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo – Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; 7School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, BrazilBackground: The aim of this study was to compare post-exercise hypotension after acute sessions of water-walking and land-walking in healthy trained and untrained women.Methods: Twenty-three untrained (n = 12) and trained (n = 11) normotensive women performed two walking sessions in water and on land at 40% of peak VO2 for 45 minutes. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure were measured 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after the exercise sessions.Results: No differences were found between the groups for age and anthropometric parameters, but peak VO2 for the trained women (45 ± 8 mL/kg/minute) was higher than for the untrained women (31 ± 3 mL/kg/minute). No differences were found between the groups with regard to systolic and diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure after water immersion. The heart rate in the trained group (62 ± 3 beats per minute [bpm]) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than in the untrained group (72 ± 4 bpm) on land, and after water immersion, this difference disappeared (58 ± 5 bpm in the trained women and 66 ± 5 bpm in the untrained women). Sixty minutes after water-walking, systolic blood pressure (108 ± 8 mmHg vs 97 ± 3 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure (69 ± 5 mmHg vs 62 ± 5 mmHg), and mean arterial pressure (82 ± 6 mmHg vs 74 ± 4 mmHg) decreased significantly with rest in the untrained group, and no differences were found after land-walking. In the trained group, significant (P < 0.05) differences were found only for systolic blood pressure (110 ± 9 mmHg vs 100 ± 9 mmHg) after 60 minutes of water-walking; decreases in systolic blood pressure were found after 45 minutes (99 ± 7 mmHg) and 60 minutes (99 ± 6 mmHg) compared with rest (107 ± 5 mmHg) after land-walking.Conclusion: Single water-walking and land-walking sessions induced important hypotension following exercise. Additionally, walking performed in chest-deep water has a better effect on exercise-induced hypotension in untrained healthy women than walking at a similar intensity on land.Keywords: water-based exercise, post-exercise hypotension, blood pressure, cardiovascular response, normotensive women