Targeting Fitness: PSAs: Email: A reason to Exercise!

Significant reductions in blood pressure may persist for up to 16 hours after a single, 45-minute exercise session in people with high blood pressure, a study indicates. James Hagberg, M.D., of the University of Maryland in College Park, and his colleagues studied the effects of vigorous exercise on blood pressure among 11 obese, sedentary men, ages 49 to 67. The men's blood pressures were recorded during a day when they participated in three 15-minute sessions of treadmill exercise and on a second day when they did not exercise. The researchers found that the systolic blood pressure (the first number) of the men remained lower for 16 hours after exercise compared with blood pressure recordings done on the non-exercise day. Diastolic blood pressures (the second number) also were lower for 12 hours, though the reductions were smaller than the systolic readings. In addition, the study found that average systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressures over 24 hours were significantly lower following exercise. The study, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Hypertension, concludes that the findings might help keep people with high blood pressure to be motivated to exercise regularly.