Effect of exercise training on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in heart failure patients.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) response to exercise training (ET) in heart failure (HF) patients. Twelve HF patients and 15 sedentary healthy controls underwent ET for 2 months (3 times per week from 80%-90% of the ventilatory threshold). ABPM was performed before and 2 days after the last exercise season. Despite the fact that ET in HF patients was associated with significant improvements in peak oxygen consumption (pVO2), there were no significant changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR). On the other hand, controls decreased 24-hour mean SBP (117+/-8-115+/-9 mm Hg, P=.019) and 24-hour mean DBP (73+/-6-71+/-5 mm Hg, P=.016), mainly at nighttime SBP (107+/-8-103+/-9, P=.0004) and DBP (63+/-5-59+/-5 mm Hg, P<.0001). No changes in HR were found in controls. Values of 24-hour blood pressure did not change with ET in HF patients.