Exercise training and hypertension.

Hypertension is a major health dilemma in the world today because of its high rate of incidence. Exercise training is usually mentioned as a useful nonpharmacological therapy for essential hypertension. Seventeen studies have assessed the effect of exercise training in individuals with essential hypertension. The majority of the results indicate that both systolic and diastolic blood pressure may be lowered by approximately 10 mmHg with training, however, this conclusion must be interpreted in light of numerous design deficiencies, methodological shortcomings, and the limited populations studied in these investigations. Some studies appear to indicate that mild to moderate intensity training may be as useful in lowering blood pressure as higher intensity training. Very little data is available to indicate if cardiac output and/or total peripheral resistance are reduced to bring about the reduction in blood pressure. Clearly more studies are required to evaluate the belief that exercise training is beneficial in essential hypertension and to determine the responsible mechanisms.