Exercise as a tool for hypertension and resistant hypertension management: current insights

Figures & data

Table 1 Summary of the main systematic reviews with meta-analysis covering the effects of exercise training on blood pressure control

Author, date	Main characteristics of the review	Main results
Aerobic exercise training
Börjesson et al, 2016^Citation14	27 RCTs, with a total of 1,480 participants	Mean reductions of 10.8 mmHg for SBP and 4.7 mmHg for DBP; 40–60 minutes/session, ≥3 times/week, ≥4 weeks, at moderate or high intensity was associated with the greatest BP lowering effect
Cornelissen et al, 2013^Citation16	15 RCTs, with 633 participants 30–60 minutes/session, 2–5 times/week, ≥4 weeks (6–52 weeks), at 50%–75% HR reserve	Reduction in daytime SBP and DBP: 3.2 mmHg and 2.7 mmHg No nighttime BP reduction
Cornelissen et al, 2013^Citation17	59 RCTs, with 3,957 participants 30–60 minutes/session, 3–5 times/week, 4–52 weeks, at moderate intensity (walking and jogging)	Office SBP and DBP reduction of 8.3 and 5.2 mmHg, respectively, in hypertensive participants; 4.3 and 1.7 mmHg in prehypertensive, and 0.75 and 1.1 mmHg in normotensive participants
Resistance exercise training
MacDonald et al, 2016^Citation18	64 controlled studies, with 2,344 participants Moderate-intensity resistance exercise, mean 65% 1-RM; 3 sets, 8 exercises, 11 repetitions; 3 times/week, 6–48 weeks	Reductions of SBP and DBP of 5.7/5.2 mmHg in participants with hypertension and 3.0/3.3 mmHg in participants with prehypertension
Concurrent exercise training
Corso et al, 2016^Citation20	68 trials, with 4,110 participants 60 minutes/session; 3 times/week, 3–144 weeks of moderate intensity (aerobic exercise at 55% VO2 max; resistance exercise at 60% 1-RM)	Reductions of SBP and DBP of 5.3/5.6 mmHg in hypertensive patients and 2.9/3.6 mmHg in prehypertension. Reductions of 9/7.7 mmHg were found in higher quality studies with hypertensive participants
Isometric exercise training
Inder et al, 2016^Citation21	11 RCTs, with 302 participants; 6 trials used handgrip and 5 used leg exercises	Decrease in SBP (4.5 mmHg) and DBP (4.5 mmHg) in hypertensive participants Higher SBP decrease in handgrip (6.9 mmHg) vs leg exercise (4.2 mmHg)
Jin et al, 2017^Citation22	6 RCTs, with 157 subjects	Reductions of SBP and DBP of 8.33 and 3.9 mmHg in hypertensive patients

Abbreviations: RCT, randomized controlled trials; RM, repetition maximum

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