INTRODUCTION: The increasing demand for swimming as a non-pharmacological treatment of hypertension has increased. PURPOSE: To analyze the blood pressure (BP) responses after swimming and during the daily work routine of pre-hypertensive individuals. METHODS: Eight male borderline hypertensive individuals (128.2 ± 7.8 / 77.8 ± 6.0 mmHg; 41.8 ± 3.2 years; 84.7 ± 17.9 kg; 180.4 ± 4.8 cm; 27.3 ± 5.8 kg.m2 (-1)) were submitted to a swimming exercise (SS) and control (CS) sessions. BP was measured at pre-exercise rest and during 12 hours of the post-exercise recovery. In SS, patients swan for 45 minutes in a moderate-high intensity (PSE 14.5 ± 1.6), and during CS the subjects remained at seated rest for 45 min. RESULTS: ANOVA for repeated measures evidenced significant decrease (P < 0.05) in SBP in the for 2 hours after SS in comparison to rest, and a significant difference between the SBP deltas (Δ - SBP variation in the post-exercise recovery compared to pre-exercise rest) was observed when comparing sessions at 1 and 2 hours after recovery, respectively (ΔSS = -10.4 and -9.3 vs. ΔCS = 0.8 and 4.4 mmHg, p <0.05). There were not significant differences in DBP within and between sessions. CONCLUSION: Swimming exercise at moderate-high intensity was effective in promoting post-exercise BP reduction for borderline hypertensive individuals during their daily work routine.
Post-exercise hypotension; blood pressure; heart rate; perceived exertion
