Increasing daily walking lowers blood pressure in postmenopausal women

Purpose: The American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Diseas e Control and Prevention (ACSM-CDC) recommend 30 min of daily moderate-inte nsity physical activity for health; however, the effectiveness of this reco mmendation in lowering blood pressure (BP) in hypertensives is unclear. The present study tested the hypothesis that walking activity following the AC SM-CDC physical activity recommendation would lower BP in postmenopausal wo men with high BP. Methods: Resting BP was measured in 24 postmenopausal wom en with borderline to stage 1 hypertension at baseline, 12 wk, and 24 wk. F ifteen women in the exercise (EX) group walked 3 km.d(-1) above their daily lifestyle walking, whereas 9 women in the control (CON) group did not chan ge their activity. Walking activity was self-measured with a pedometer in b oth groups, Results: Resting systolic BP was reduced in the EX group after 12 wk by 6 mm. Hg (P<0.005) and was further reduced by 5 mm Hg at the end o f 24 wk (P<0.005). There was no change in diastolic BP with walking. The CO N group experienced no change in BP at either 12 or 24 wk. Body mass was mo destly reduced by 1.3 kg in the EX group after 24 wk (P<0.05); however, it was not correlated with the change in BP. There were no changes in selected variables known to impact BP including percent body fat, fasting plasma in sulin, or dietary intake. Conclusion: In conclusion, a 24-wk walking progra m meeting the ACSM-CDC physical activity recommendation is effective in low ering systolic BP in postmenopausal women with borderline to stage 1 hypert ension.