Physical Activity and Arterial Blood Pressure Response to Handgrip Exercise

Abstract

We studied the pressor response to isometric handgrip (IHG) in relation to the level of habitual physical activity (PA) in men and women. The study involved 116 volunteers (69 women and 47 men) aged 20 to 59 years without a history of hypertension. The IHG test of 30% of maximal voluntary contraction of the right hand was performed for two minutes. Blood pressure (BP) was measured before IHG, at the end of the test and 5 minutes after. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to assess PA. It was found that the level of PA had a significant effect on the muscle and fat content of the body composition and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). In the subjects with a high level of PA, the percentage of muscle tissue was greater, of fat less, and DBP was lower than in the groups with moderate and low PA (p < 0.05). In women (but not in men) with a high level of PA, systolic BP (SBP) at rest was significantly lower than in women with low PA (p = 0.014). The SBP and DBP values during IHG were higher in men (p = 0.000); the factor of habitual physical activity did not affect them significantly. The SBP response to the IHG also depended on sex (p = 0.007 for absolute values and p = 0.027 for percentage of the baseline level) and did not depend on physical activity: the SBP increase during IHG was higher in men than in women. The DBP and heart rate response to the IHG did not depend significantly on either sex or physical activity. Thus, the level of PA is inversely related to the blood pressure at rest but does not affect the blood pressure reactivity in response to isometric handgrip in individuals without cardiovascular disorders.