Antihypertensive Effects of Aerobic Exercise

The purpose of this study was to examine the antihypertensive effects of lower extremity aerobic exercise on resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure among hypertensive adults. Nine studies representing a total of 245 subjects (147 exercise, 98 control) met the criteria for inclusion. Using the meta-analytic technique, exercise-induce effect size reductions significantly different from zero were found for both resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure (mean +/- SD, systolic: 0.63 +/- 0.66, 95% confidence interval, 0.12 to 1.14; diastolic: 0.35 +/- 0.19, 95% confidence interval, 0.19 to 0.49). Effect sizes corresponded with decreases of approximately 7 +/- 5 and 6 +/- 2 mm Hg for resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively. None of the changes were significant for the control groups. The results of this study suggest that lower extremity aerobic exercise has an antihypertensive effect on resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults. However, a need exists for more meticulously controlled investigations on this topic.