Therapeutic effect of exercise on hypertension

Arterial blood pressure, total peripheral resistance (TPR), plasma catecholamine and other hormone concentrations were measured or estimated during, and 4 h following, a 20-min exercise test on the bicycle ergometer in 10 women with marginal (borderline) hypertension. Each woman served as her own control by repeating the whole procedure, except for the exercise test, on another day. Median and 80% range was used: M (0.8 R). Compared with the control, the exercise reduced the driving blood pressure from 103 (94-110) to 95 (80-100) mm Hg and the TPR from 1.13 (0.96-1.40) to 0.91 (0.79-1.11) PRUs - both reductions being statistically significant with two-sided P less than 0.05 for at least 4 h. - The reduced nervous and humoral sympathetic activity following aerobic exercise seems capable of explaining the low TPR, and the continuous rise in the muscular vasodilatator dopamine may be of importance.