Exercise training favourably affects autonomic and blood pressure responses during mental and physical stressors in African-American men

V. Bond, M. N. Bartels, R. P. Sloan, R. M. Millis, A. S. Zion, N. Andrews, R. E. De Meersman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Aerobic exercise is a powerful mechanism by which cardiovascular and autonomic parameters may be improved. We sought to quantify the extent of benefit that could be achieved by a short-term monitored exercise regimen on several autonomic parameters during recognized mental and physical stressors in young normotensive African-American men matched for a family history of hypertension, a group at high risk for the development of hypertension. Autonomic modulations were derived using spectral decomposition of the electrocardiogram and beat-to-beat blood pressures (BPs). Arterial compliance was obtained using contour analysis of the radial artery pulse wave. The analysis of variance revealed that compared with a matched sedentary control group, aerobic capacity of the trained group significantly increased by 16%. Autonomic modulations, arterial compliance and BP responses significantly improved during some of the stressors, whereas no such improvements were seen in the control group. Attenuated responses, mediated through a favourable shift in sympathovagal balance and enhanced arterial compliance, provide mechanistic evidence of how certain variables may be improved due to aerobic conditioning in a population at high risk for the development of hypertension.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)267-273
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of human hypertension
Volume23
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine

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