Short-Term Effect of Self-Selected Training Intensity on Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Older Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Júlio Sócrates,1 Rodrigo Alberto Vieira Browne,1 Geovani Araújo Dantas Macêdo,2 Maria Beatriz Fonseca Araújo,3 Ronildo Paulo-Pereira,3 Ludmila Lucena Pereira Cabral,1 Bruno Erick Barros Lucena,1 Luiz Fernando Farias-Junior,4 Eduardo Caldas Costa1– 3 1Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil; 2Graduate Program in Physical Education, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil; 3Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil; 4Graduate Program in Psychobiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, BrazilCorrespondence: Eduardo Caldas CostaDepartment of Physical Education, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, BR 101, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN 59078-970, BrazilTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected]: To investigate the short-term effect of self-selected training intensity (SSTI) on ambulatory blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive older women.Participants and Methods: This is a randomized, single-blind, two-arm, parallel-group controlled trial that included 40 medicated hypertensive older women (64.4± 3.6 years; resting systolic 118± 19 and diastolic BP 68± 9 mmHg). SSTI intervention was performed three times per week, 30– 50 minutes per session (n=20). The control group participated in health education meetings once per week (n=20). Ambulatory BP (primary outcome) and six-minute walking test performance (secondary outcome) were assessed at baseline and following 8 weeks of intervention. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE, 6– 20), and affective valence (ie, feeling scale, − 5/+5) were recorded during all SSTI sessions. Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were used for data analyses.Results: Fifteen participants from the SSTI group and 17 from the control group completed the study. No differences in ambulatory BP (24-h, awake, and asleep) were observed between SSTI and control groups (intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses; p> 0.05). The SSTI group showed a greater six-minute walking test performance than the control group in the intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses (p< 0.05). The participants exercised at 52± 10% of HR reserve reported an RPE of 11± 1 and an affective valence of 3.4± 1.1 over the 8-week period.Conclusion: SSTI is a feasible approach to induce a more active lifestyle and increase health-related fitness in hypertensive older women, although it does not improve BP control over a short-term period.Keywords: exercise, hypertension, aging

Keywords

• exercise
• hypertension
• aging.