Changes of blood pressure, serum inflammatory factors and endothelin levels in patients with hypertension under rehabilitative aerobic exercise

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rehabilitative aerobic exercise on blood pressure, serum inflammatory factors, endothelin and quality of life in patients with hypertension. Ninety patients with mild hypertension visiting West China Hospital of Sichuan University from June 2017 to December 2017 were enrolled and randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. Patients in both groups were given a low-salt diet, and the experimental group was given an extra three-month treadmill training. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), serum tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), serum interleukin-6 and endothelin-1, body mass index (BMI), triglyceride (TG) and other indicators were examined in both groups before and after exercise, SF-36 scale was used to evaluate the quality of life. The results showed that after 3 months of exercise, SBP and DBP in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P less than 0.05). Compared with the control group, the concentrations of TNF-α, interleukin-6 and endothelin-1 in the experimental group were significantly decreased (P less than 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that IL-6 was positively correlated with SBP (P less than 0.05), and TNF-α and ET-1 were positively correlated with diastolic blood pressure (P less than 0.05). The general health status, energy, mental health, social function, emotional function and health changes of the experimental group were significantly improved compared with before exercise (P less than 0.05). In conclusion, rehabilitative aerobic exercise can lower blood pressure and improve the overall quality of life in mild hypertension patients by inhibiting vascular inflammation and lowering plasma endothelin-1.