Influence of resistance training on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring: a brief review

Abstract

Arterial hypertension is considered a primary risk factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases. An effective non-pharmacological strategy against arterial hypertension is the practice of physical exercises. However, issues remain about the ambulatory behavior of blood pressure after different training protocols, especially strength exercises. In this sense, the objective of this study was to review and summarize the main results found in the literature that investigated the effects of strength training (isolated and associated with other interventions) on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. A search was carried out in the free databases PubMed, Lilacs and Google Scholar, using the keywords in different combinations. Studies in the English language were considered, which investigated ambulatory blood pressure monitoring after acute strength training, after a period of strength training alone and/or in association with other interventions. To sum up, strength training (isolated and combined) is an essential measure for lowering blood pressure and improving/maintaining vascular health. The combination of different training strategies in a periodized manner can be adopted to generate broader benefits in hemodynamic measurements. An important point that was observed in the studies is that strength training can be implemented as an interesting option for those individuals who cannot do aerobics training, especially for the older people who need to stimulate the neuromuscular system. It can help with other benefits, such as blood pressure control, mood improvement, sleep quality, among others.