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Resistance to recommending exercise in hypertension?

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 29, pages 340–341 (2015)Cite this article

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A broad consensus exists regarding the importance of exercise in the treatment of hypertension. But do clinicians consistently recommend exercise to their hypertensive patients, and do patients heed this advice? Using data from a nationally representative survey with almost 500 000 respondents, Mu et al.1 investigated whether respondents with hypertension reported being advised to exercise by their health-care provider. Moreover, they examined whether hypertensive respondents who had been advised to exercise were more likely to report engaging in aerobic and resistance exercise activities. The authors also assessed whether the exercise reported by survey participants would meet U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults.2 This study provides an important opportunity for clinicians and patients alike to reflect on their habits—and what it might take to improve them.

Approximately one in five hypertensive survey respondents reported that health-care providers had not recommended exercise. Moreover, those advised to exercise were more than twice as likely to report exercising for blood pressure control. The authors determined that a mere 14.8% of hypertensive respondents advised to exercise met both aerobic and resistance exercise guidelines. One-third of the hypertensive respondents who had been advised to exercise met aerobic exercise guidelines only, in contrast to 7.2% who met resistance exercise guidelines only.

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References

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  1. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA,

    J B Byrd

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  1. J B Byrd
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Correspondence to J B Byrd.

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Byrd, J. Resistance to recommending exercise in hypertension?. J Hum Hypertens 29, 340–341 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2014.105

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