Influence of Aerobic Training on Cardiovascular and Metabolic Parameters in Elderly Hypertensive Women

Background: treatment of hypertension includes pharmacological andnonpharmacological interventions. among the nonpharmacologicalinterventions emphasizes the practice of regular physical exercise.however, the effects of aerobic exercise training on cardiovascularand metabolic parameters in elderly hypertensive women are stillcontroversial.objectives: the purpose of this study was to assess the effects ofa walking program on metabolic and cardiovascular parameters atrest and during the recovery period following maximal exercise byhypertensive elderly women.methods: twelve elderly women with hypertension started a 2-weekwalking program. rest blood cholesterol and anthropometric data,as well as blood pressure and heart rate at rest and after progressivemaximal exercise were measured before and after training.results: there were significant differences between the pre- andposttraining periods in vo2max, systolic blood pressure, diastolicblood pressure, and mean blood pressure. there were no changesin serum cholesterol levels after the training. during the recoveryperiod following the progressive test, the fall in heart rate andmean blood pressure after 10 minutes of recovery was significantlyhigher after training.conclusion: the proposed walking program did not alter serumcholesterol, but it did reduce resting blood pressure, improveaerobic performance and accelerate the fall in heart rate andmean blood pressure during the postprogressive maximal aerobicexercise recovery period in elderly hypertensive women.