Effect of Graded Exercise on Maximal Aerobic Capacity in Hypertension

A forty subjects with essential hypertension (grade II) participated in this study, after giving a written informed consent, in order to investigate the effect of exercise training program on maximal aerobic capacity. The age of the subjects ranged between 45-70 years. None of the subjects complained of any disease that is contraindicated for the study. The patients performed walking on the treadmill starting at 55% of each individual s heart rate reserve. Training intensity was increased by 5% to of heart rate reserve every month till reached 80% of heart rate reserve. The training session time was 25 minutes at starting the program and ended by 50 minutes, three sessions per week for six months. Maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 max) and blood pressure were measured before the first session and then after completion of six months. The results showed that there is a significant increase in maximal aerobic capacity and a significant decrease in blood pressure after exercise training. This improvement may be due to that regular aerobic exercise induces a blood pressure lowering effect acting on the sympathetic/parasympathetic balance, that is, reducing the sympathetic tone or enhancing the parasympathetic one.