Exercise training may lower stress-related blood pressure responses

A recent study published in the journal scientific report, researchers conducted a meta-analysis to elucidate the effects of exercise training on stress-related blood pressure (BP) reactivity. Their results show that regular aerobic exercise helps reduce the systolic blood pressure response to stressors in adults, especially in hypertensive individuals.

exercise and stress

Everyday life is a source of myriad physical, mental and emotional stressors, all of which are known to severely affect our internal stability (homeostasis). Previous studies have investigated the effects of stressors on the cardiovascular system. Stress-related blood pressure fluctuations have been identified as predictors of future hypertension, rapid aging and cardiovascular trauma.

Stress is a complex, multidimensional web of factors that threaten homeostasis. Research suggests that physical and mental stressors can cause elevated blood pressure through changes in hormones, neural networks, or autonomic systems. Health professionals often prescribe exercise training as a non-pharmacologic intervention for hypertension, and previous studies have shown decreased peak blood pressure responsiveness after exercise (acute exercise).

However, there are still no studies in the literature on the effects of non-aerobic exercise and physical fitness (extensive exercise training) on ​​the blood pressure response to stressors. The current study aims to fill these knowledge gaps using a meta-analytic approach investigating whether exercise training has similar effects to acute exercise. Can regular, regular exercise be used not only as a post-stress treatment, but also as a preventive measure against the cardiovascular effects of stressors?

About research

Researchers first scanned five electronic databases and identified 5,058 publications that matched essential exercise and blood pressure monitoring requirements. These publications were scrutinized, of which 23 full publications and 1 conference abstract were selected to compose the final dataset.

All papers were reviewed in duplicate by independent researchers. A meta-analysis included 1,121 people who were recommended moderate-to-high-intensity exercise between 6 and 52 weeks. Exercise time averaged 50 minutes, which he repeated 3-4 times a week. The ratio of male to female patients was 1.65:1. Nearly 22% of participants were classified as hypertensive, more than 61% were normotensive and the rest could not be classified due to missing study-specific data.

The most prescribed mode of exercise was aerobic training, with 21 of the 23 studies referring to the same. This was followed by resistance training (5 studies), yoga (2 studies), and isometric handgrip training (1 study). What is almost ubiquitous in all research is that exercise is good. Ten studies found significant reductions in diastolic blood pressure (DBP), nine in systolic blood pressure (SBP), and one in mean blood pressure reactivity. He found only one paper that found a negative association between DBP and yoga.

The most frequently used stressors in these papers were arithmetic tasks, but the authors caution against arithmetic tasks because they do not accurately reflect everyday stressors.

research result

A meta-analysis found that 64% of studies showed positive results that exercise training reduced SBP or DBP. Studies that showed peak stress associated with SBP elucidation exercise had moderately favorable effects compared with studies that measured and reported baseline blood pressure changes that had zero effect.

This may indicate that physical exercise not only reduces the stress response, but also lowers resting blood pressure and, with the same degree of stress response, also lowers peak blood pressure. “

Despite these results, lowering blood pressure remains of paramount importance given its association with future cardiovascular risk, including stroke. This result also suggests that exercise may have different anti-stress effects depending on the type of stressors, and physical stressors have been shown to act via arteriolar vasoconstriction. It has been. In contrast, psychological stressors do not cause changes in blood volume, but they produce large changes in heart rate, pulse rate and pressure.

Previous studies have shown variability in patient test proficiency and self-diagnosis.efficacy, and the period over which measurements are recorded after exercise can lead to significant heterogeneity in results. Additional research on different stressor modes, investigations on non-aerobic exercise, and standardized testing protocols could help advance this field further.

Unlike previous studies, the current study did not find a strong association between age group, gender and benefits of exercise. No effect was seen in the younger group compared to the moderate effect seen in the older group, but the difference between the older groups was small. The study also found greater improvements in women’s stress response blood pressure after exercise compared to previous literature, suggesting that men benefit more.

Finally, although few studies have compared trends in hypersensitive and normotensive patients, the current study finds evidence that exercise benefits are greatest in those at risk. . Hypertensive individuals were found to have lower cardiac output and more pronounced vasculature than normotensive individuals. The relative contributions of exercise and antihypertensive drugs should be investigated in future studies.

Conclusion

The present meta-analysis provides evidence to suggest that aerobic exercise may reduce the systolic blood pressure response to laboratory-based stress tests. These results are especially important for those with a history of hypertension and those over the age of 35. Despite the limitation of being limited to secondary data, this study provides a basis for future research.

Future studies should consider investigating different aspects of population characteristics, types of stress tests, and other exercise modalities, especially resistance training. “