News - Hypertension Week of August 31, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 35

Study: Modest Weekly Exercise Can Significantly Reduce Blood Pressure

A significant drop in blood pressure can be achieved with a relatively modest increase in physical activity, according to a study reported in the August issue of the American Journal of Hypertension.

Japanese researchers divided 207 participants with untreated high blood pressure into five groups based on duration and frequency of exercise, which ranged from no exercise to a maximum of over 120 minutes a week. The groups did not differ in age, gender, height, body mass, dietary intake and initial blood pressure.

The non-exercise group did not experience a change in their systolic and diastolic blood pressure. However, the four exercise groups demonstrated significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

The group that exercised between 61 and 90 minutes each week had higher systolic blood pressure reductions than the group that exercised between 30 to 60 minutes a week. Interestingly, the groups that exercised more than 90 minutes a week did not attain greater systolic blood pressure reductions than the 61-to 90-minute group.

The magnitude of reductions in diastolic blood pressure was not significantly different among four exercise groups. No link was found between how many times one exercised each week and the magnitude of the decrease in blood pressure.

The researchers concluded that previously sedentary people with high blood pressure can achieve clinically significant decreases in blood pressure with relatively modest increases in physical activity.

Other sources: American Journal of Hypertension, 16:8; 629-633