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Effects of resistance training on central blood pressure and wave reflection in obese adults with prehypertension

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 28, pages 143–144 (2014)Cite this article

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Young overweight and obese adults with prehypertension are at increased risk of developing hypertension1 and arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity, PWV).2 Moreover, obesity is associated with increased aortic blood pressure (BP) and augmentation index (AIx),3 two independent predictors of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.4 The increase in aortic systolic BP (SBP) is in part attributed to an increased wave reflection from peripheral arteries to the aorta that causes augmentation of the second systolic peak (P2), leading to a subsequent increase in AIx.5 It has been shown that aortic BP and wave reflection magnitude (P2) rather than brachial BP are main contributors to the increase in left ventricle afterload and mass6 that predispose cardiac ischemia.7 Therefore, antihypertensive drug therapies that reduce aortic BP and AIx can improve left ventricular function and prevent cardiac disease.6, 7 However, recommended non-pharmacological interventions for prehypertension are lifestyle modifications including increase in physical activity. Although high-intensity resistance exercise training has shown to reduce brachial SBP and diastolic BP (DBP),8 the effects on central BPs and wave reflection are still unclear.

In the current issue of the Journal of Human Hypertension, Croymans et al.9 examined the effects of 12 weeks of high-intensity resistance exercise training on aortic hemodynamics and carotid-femoral (aortic) PWV in young obese men with prehypertension. The main findings of the study were that brachial and aortic SBP (6.5 and 3.8 mm Hg) and DBP (5 and 4 mm Hg) decreased after resistance exercise training. Interestingly, they found that AIx adjusted for a heart rate of 75 beats min−1 (AIx75, 3.3%) and aortic PWV (−0.2 m s−1), the gold standard marker of aortic stiffness, were not significantly changed by resistance training. However, the magnitude of the first systolic peak (P1, −5.5 mm Hg) and P2 (−4.0 mm Hg) as well as heart rate (−4 beats min−1) were significantly decreased by resistance training. The authors stated that the decreases in central BP occurred in the absence of changes in wave reflection, specifically AIx75. However, they did not discuss the effects on augmented pressure (P2–P1) and the negative relationship between heart rate and AIx.10

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  1. Nutrition, Food & Exercise Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    A Figueroa

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Figueroa, A. Effects of resistance training on central blood pressure and wave reflection in obese adults with prehypertension. J Hum Hypertens 28, 143–144 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2013.83

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