High-intensity intermittent swimming improves cardiovascular health status for women with mild hypertension.

Magni Mohr,Peter Krustrup,Hildigunn Steinholm,Jann Mortensen,Nikolai Baastrup Nordsborg,Annika Lindenskov,Pal Weihe,Hans Petur Nielsen

doi:10.1155/2014/728289

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that high-intensity swim training improves cardiovascular health status in sedentary premenopausal women with mild hypertension, sixty-two women were randomized into high-intensity (n = 21; HIT), moderate-intensity (n = 21; MOD), and control groups (n = 20; CON). HIT performed 6–10 × 30 s all-out swimming interspersed by 2 min recovery and MOD swam continuously for 1 h at moderate intensity for a 15-week period completing in total 44 ± 1 and 43 ± 1 sessions, respectively. In CON, all measured variables were similar before and after the intervention period. Systolic BP decreased (P < 0.05) by 6 ± 1 and 4 ± 1 mmHg in HIT and MOD; respectively. Resting heart rate declined (P < 0.05) by 5 ± 1 bpm both in HIT and MOD, fat mass decreased (P < 0.05) by 1.1 ± 0.2 and 2.2 ± 0.3 kg, respectively, while the blood lipid profile was unaltered. In HIT and MOD, performance improved (P < 0.05) for a maximal 10 min swim (13 ± 3% and 22 ± 3%), interval swimming (23 ± 3% and 8 ± 3%), and Yo-Yo IE1 running performance (58 ± 5% and 45 ± 4%). In conclusion, high-intensity intermittent swimming is an effective training strategy to improve cardiovascular health and physical performance in sedentary women with mild hypertension. Adaptations are similar with high- and moderate-intensity training, despite markedly less total time spent and distance covered in the high-intensity group.

Highlights

Arterial hypertension is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and it is well known that the risk of arterial hypertension is markedly elevated by obesity and an inactive lifestyle [1, 2]
The present study is the first to examine if two different types of swim training can improve the cardiovascular health profile and land-based exercise capacity in sedentary premenopausal women with mild to moderate hypertension
The principal findings reveal that both short-term intermittent high-intensity and prolonged moderate-intensity swim training reduced systolic blood pressure and improved both water and land-based exercise capacities

Summary

Introduction

Arterial hypertension is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and it is well known that the risk of arterial hypertension is markedly elevated by obesity and an inactive lifestyle [1, 2]. There is strong evidence that exercise training lowers arterial blood pressure, improves aerobic fitness, and counteracts several other cardiovascular risk factors related to increased morbidity in patients with mild to moderate hypertension [3, 4], but it is still debated whether the magnitude of training response is related to exercise mode and the type of training performed. Little information is available concerning the effects of regular swimming exercise training on the cardiovascular health profile. Nualnim and coworkers [10] demonstrated that 12 wks of regular 15–45 min continuous moderate-intensity swimming lowered systolic blood pressure (SBP) by 9 mmHg in adults older than 50 yrs with mild hypertension. No studies have compared different swim training regimes in sedentary women suffering from mild to moderate arterial hypertension

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