ABSTRACT
Objective: The present prospective study was conducted to observe the physiological effects of brisk walk on the systemic blood pressure in hypertensive subjects
Study Design: Observational study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at Outpatient Department, NICVD-Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center [JPMC] / Physiology department, BMSI, Karachi from December 2001 to May 2002
Materials and Methods: A sample of 30 diagnosed cases of mild uncomplicated systemic hypertension and 30 healthy controls were selected as per study criteria. Aerobic exercise was explained as of doing regular briskwalking of 30 minutes on alternate days for 60 days. Systolic blood pressure [SBP], diastolic BP [DBP], heart rate [HR] and respiratory rate [RR] were checked at baseline and after 60 days of aerobic exercise. Consent of subjects and approval of ethics committee of institute was observed. Data was analyzed on the SPSS 10.0. Continuous and categoricaldata wasanalyzedbystudent`st-testand Chisquaretestrespectivelyas95%confidenceinterval
Results: Baseline systolic BP, diastolic BP, HR and RR were raised in hypertensive subjects compared to controls [p=0.001]. After 60 days aerobic exercise, the systolic BP, diastolic BP, HR and RR were reduced in hypertensive subjects compared to controls [p >0.05]
Conclusion: The present study concludes that the aerobic exercise improves Systolic blood pressure [SBP], diastolic BP [DBP], heart rate [HR] and respiratory rate [RR] in hypertensive subjects