Acute and chronic effects of aerobic training and detraining on blood pressure of hypertensive women

Introduction: Physical activity is an effective treatment for hypertension, but the training must be constant to maintain the adaptations. Objective: To measure the effects of aerobic training and detraining on blood pressure of hypertensive women. Materials and methods: Twelve hypertensive women underwent 2 weeks of aerobic training and 2 weeks of detraining. Results: The results have shown significant differences regarding systolic and diastolic blood pressure at 4. h and 3. h post-exercise, respectively. Chronic reductions were found for systolic and diastolic blood pressure after 2 weeks of aerobic training: P<.01 and P<.05, respectively. Significant differences were not found when systolic and diastolic blood pressures were compared at baseline versus after detraining. Conclusions: The positive effects of aerobic training disappear after only 2 weeks of detraining.