Different exercise modalities exert opposite acute effects on short-term blood pressure variability in male patients with hypertension

Background The aim of this study was to compare the acute effects produced by a single bout of three different exercise modalities on short-term blood pressure variability. Methods The study enrolled 21 sedentary male patients with hypertension and a mean age of 63 +/- 7.2 years. Blood pressure variability was evaluated through ambulatory blood pressure monitoring that was performed twice: during an ordinary daily activity and after an exercise session lasting 60 minutes. Patients were divided into three groups according to the different exercise modality performed during the session: aerobic continuous training, interval training or combined training including aerobic and resistance training. Results Twenty-four-hour systolic blood pressure variability increased in the interval training group, was unchanged in the aerobic continuous training group and decreased in the combined training group (intergroup P = 0.03). Daytime systolic blood pressure variability increased in the interval training and aerobic continuous training groups while it decreased in the combined training group (intergroup P = 0.0006). Twenty-four-hour diastolic blood pressure variability decreased in the aerobic continuous training and combined training groups while it increased in the interval training group (intergroup P = 0.002). Conclusion Different training modalities have similar hypotensive action but exert different acute effects on blood pressure variability. Combined training seems to be the most suitable training modality for sedentary men with hypertension.