COMPARISON OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND MUSCLE RELAXATION TRAINING IN THE TREATMENT OF MILD ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION

Abstract

Forty-five patients with mild essential hypertension, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between 90 and 104 mmHg, were randomly allocated to three different treatment groups: relaxation, isotonic physical exercise or placebo. Outcome measures included blood pressure readings and heart rate (HR) in the clinic and cardiovascular responsiveness (mental arithmetic and isotonic exercise). The study schedule consisted of four baseline sessions, 8 weeks of treatment and 6 months follow-up. Relaxation and physical exercise were superior to the placebo procedure in reducing blood pressure (BP) at post-treatment for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and DBP and at follow-up for SBP. No significant differences were found between the experimental procedures. However, relaxation was superior to the exercise programme at follow-up for HR. None of the subjects had their medication changed at post-treatment. However, after 6 months follow-up, three placebo subjects were started on antihypertensive drugs. In contrast, none of the exercise and relaxation group subjects were placed on medication. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.