Postexercise decrease in arterial blood pressure, total peripheral resistance and in circulatory responses to brief hyperoxia in subjects with mild essential hypertension

Abstract

The objective of our study was: (1) to compare the influence of moderate exercise on circulatory after-response in mildly hypertensive (n = 8) and normotensive male subjects (n = 9); (2) to examine the circulatory response to 3-min hyperoxic inactivation of arterial chemoreceptors at rest and during postexercise period in both groups. Hypertensive men (HTS) with a systolic blood pressure (SBP) 148 ± 5 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) 92.4 ± 4 mm Hg; and normotensive men (NTS), with a SBP 126 ± 3 mm Hg, DBP 75.6 ± 1.3 mm Hg, were submitted to 20-min of moderate exercise on a cycloergometer (up to the level of 55% of each subject’s resting heart rate reserve). Finger arterial BP was recorded continuously with Finapres, impedance reography was used for recording stroke volume, cardiac output and arm blood flow. In HTS a significant decrease in SBP by 14.5 ± 3.4 mm Hg, DBP by 8.9 ± 1.9 mm Hg, total peripheral resistance (TPR) by 0.45 ± 0.05 TPR u. (33.7 ± 2.7%), and in arm vascular resistance (AVR) by 11.0 ± 2.7 PRU u. (35.6 ± 7%), was observed over a 60-min postexercise period.

NTS exhibited insignificant changes in SBP, DBP, AVR except a significant decrease in TPR limited only to 20-min postexercise period. Hyperoxia decreased SBP, DBP and TPR in HTS. This effect was significantly attenuated during the postexercise period. Long-lasting antihypertensive effect of a single dynamic exercise in HTS suggests that moderate exercise may be applied as an effective physiological procedure to reduce elevated arterial BP in mild hypertension. We suggest also that the attenuation of the sympathoexcitatory arterial chemoreceptor reflex may contribute to a postexercise decrease in arterial BP and in TPR in mildly hypertensive subjects.