Blood pressure control in elderly medicated women: benefits of a physical functional exercise programme

Abstract

Introduction: Physical activity is recommended for the prevention and treatment of hypertension. The approach of promoting functional physical activity in a group of hypertensive elderly women should be characterized by a holistic intervention on the person. This consists in considering the whole person in terms of their physical, psychic and social selves.Objective: To evaluate the effect of implement a functional training programme on resting blood pressure in hypertensive elderly women, submitted to exercise training over a period of 24 months.Methods: Exploratory research, with descriptive-analytical orientation to analyse the action of directed physical activity, implemented three times a week on the prognosis of arterial hypertension. This research was supported by the blood pressure data collection at rest in a sample of 60 Brazilian elderly women in the age group of 60 to 90 years, in the community of Vergel do Lago, Maceió / AL, Brazil.Results: The majority (80%) was elderly and hypertensive, having noticed that during the training period they had a systolic and diastolic blood pressure well below the normal standard for this age group.Conclusions: After the intervention of the Vivo Stadium Health Prevention Project, the elderly women showed a reduction and better control of blood pressure values. The results suggest that in inducing a specific physiological effect exerted at the muscle and cardio-circulatory level, physical training protects the state of health, indicating that it should be encouraged throughout the lifecycle. It can also be inferred that the programme implemented can be replicated as a measure of therapeutic education, assessment and audit of good health practices.