BACKGROUND: Hypertension can be correctly treated when exercise is regularly practiced and hence, patients would not need anti-hypertensive drugs. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of treatment exclusively with exercise on blood pressure (BP) and quality of life (QL) of hypertensive subjects. METHODS: Clinical trial with 32 sedentary hypertensive subjects, aged 55 ± 9 years, under pharmacological treatment (PT) randomly allocated to Exercise Group (EG) and Control Group (CG). At EG, 18 subjects (50% women) at least 10 days after the cessation of PT started the exercise program of 10 weeks, 3x/week, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise followed by resistance exercises, while 14 CG (57% women) remained under PT. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was evaluated by auscultation at the beginning and end and QL was evaluated using the questionnaire MINICHAL. Data were expressed as mean ± SD and statistical analysis was performed using t test, Mann Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests. RESULTS: At the beginning and end of the study, no significant differences in were observed in BP between groups. Within groups, BP in EG remained similar to the values before drugs were removed (SBP 132.2 ± 13.3 x 134.4 ± 10 mmHg, DBP 85.0 ± 9 x 85.3 ± 10 mmHg p = ns) and the CG (SBP 127.2 ± 19 x 130.2 ± 16 mmHg, DBP 82.1 ± 16 x 85.3 ± 12 mmHg p = ns).For QL, no inter-group difference was observed in scores at the beginning and end; intra-group significant improvement in the emotional aspect of the EG (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The anti-hypertensive therapy with exercise only in comparison to conventional pharmacological treatment allowed the same BP control and better QL perception.
life style; pharmacologic treatment; non-pharmacologic treatment
