J Korean Acad Nurs.  2020 Dec;50(6):740-756. 10.4040/jkan.20169.

Characteristics of Aerobic Exercise as Determinants of Blood Pressure Control in Hypertensive Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• Lee SH
• Chae YR

• KMID: 2510223
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.20169

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect on blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) according to aerobic exercise characteristics in adults with hypertension using a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methods
The related researches were selected from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus and 5 domestic databases up to September 4, 2019. To estimate the effect size, random effect models were used to derive weighted mean differences (WMD) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) of aerobic exercise on BP and HR.
Results
A total of 37 RCTs with 1,813 samples were included. Aerobic exercise was found to significantly reduce systolic BP (WMD, - 8.29 mmHg; 95% CI, - 10.12 to - 6.46), diastolic BP (WMD, - 5.19 mmHg; 95% CI, - 6.24 to - 4.14) and HR (WMD, - 4.22 beats/min; 95% CI, - 5.36 to –3.09). In detail, systolic BP and diastolic BP were significantly decreased in all groups of exercise types, frequency and duration. Systolic BP and diastolic BP were significantly decreased in the moderate and vigorous-intensity group. Exercise characteristics with the most dramatical change in systolic BP were water-based training, moderate-intensity, 3 times a week and 8 to 11 weeks of duration. In diastolic BP, the greatest effect size was over 24 weeks of exercise.
Conclusion
Moderate aerobic exercise, especially water-based exercise can be an important part of lifestyle modification for hypertensive patients. Also, it can be recommended in a variety of clinical settings for lowering BP and HR. However, there is insufficient evidence that low-intensity exercise is effective in lowering BP.

Keyword

Hypertension; Exercise; Blood Pressure; Heart Rate; Meta-Analysis