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Purpose: To investigate the short-term effect of self-selected training intensity (SSTI) on ambulatory blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive older women., Participants and Methods: This is a randomized, single-blind, two-arm, parallel-group controlled trial that included 40 medicated hypertensive older women (64.4±3.6 years; resting systolic 118±19 and diastolic BP 68±9 mmHg). SSTI intervention was performed three times per week, 30-50 minutes per session (n=20). The control group participated in health education meetings once per week (n=20). Ambulatory BP (primary outcome) and six-minute walking test performance (secondary outcome) were assessed at baseline and following 8 weeks of intervention. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE, 6-20), and affective valence (ie, feeling scale, -5/+5) were recorded during all SSTI sessions. Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were used for data analyses., Results: Fifteen participants from the SSTI group and 17 from the control group completed the study. No differences in ambulatory BP (24-h, awake, and asleep) were observed between SSTI and control groups (intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses; p>0.05). The SSTI group showed a greater six-minute walking test performance than the control group in the intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses (p<0.05). The participants exercised at 52±10% of HR reserve reported an RPE of 11±1 and an affective valence of 3.4±1.1 over the 8-week period., Conclusion: SSTI is a feasible approach to induce a more active lifestyle and increase health-related fitness in hypertensive older women, although it does not improve BP control over a short-term period., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2020 Sócrates et al.)

Purpose: Acute reduction in blood pressure (BP) following an exercise session is evidenced in controlled settings with formal supervision in hypertensive older populations. This study investigated the effect of a self-selected exercise (SSE)-intensity session on ambulatory BP in hypertensive older women in a "real-world" setting., Methods: Twenty inactive older women with hypertension (64.9±4.5 years) were included in this randomized, controlled, crossover trial. After baseline assessments, participants performed 30 minutes of an SSE-intensity session on an outdoor track and a control session, separated by 7-10 days. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and affective response were assessed. Ambulatory BP was monitored for 20 hours following both sessions. Paired t -tests and generalized estimation were used for data analysis., Results: Participants exercised at 5.1±1.1 km/h, spent ~90% of the exercise time at moderate-vigorous intensity (≥40% of heart rate reserve). SSE-intensity session was reported as light (RPE 11.0±1.5) and pleasant (affect 3.4±1.2). SSE-intensity session elicited reductions in systolic BP in the first 6 hours postexercise (6.0 mmHg, CI 2.7-9.3 mmHg; P< 0.001). Average systolic BP in the 20-hour (-3.4 mmHg, CI -5.9 to -0.9 mmHg; P =0.010) and awake (-4.0 mmHg, CI -6.4 to -1.6 mmHg; P =0.003) periods were lower following SSE-intensity session compared to control session. No differences were observed in average systolic BP during asleep period and diastolic BP during the 20-hour awake and asleep periods between the SSE-intensity session and control session ( P >0.05)., Conclusion: An SSE-intensity session elicited a reduction in ambulatory systolic BP in inactive older women with hypertension during awake and 20-hour periods. Also, the SSE-intensity session was reported as light and pleasant., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.