Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Kinesiology (MKin)

Department

Kinesiology and Physical Education

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

First Advisor

Dr. Tom Hazell

Advisor Role

Associate Professor

Abstract

Acute bouts of exercise have a transient lowering effect on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in the hours after termed post-exercise hypotension (PEH). While moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) is effective in reducing BP acutely, little is known regarding the effects of higher intensity exercise. This study examined the effects of different exercise intensities on PEH. Six participants (females: 4; age: 48±9 y, Mean arterial pressure: 84±8 mmHg) had their BP measured before and both immediately post- (<2 h) and for 24 h following 4 experimental sessions: 1) 30 min MICT (65% V̇O2max); 2) 20 min high-intensity interval training (HIIT; 10 x 1 min @ 90% HRmax with 1 min rest) session; 3) 16 min sprint-interval training (SIT; 8x15 s “all out” sprints interspersed with 2 min rest); and 4) non-exercise control (CTRL). PEH was similar for all exercise sessions (MICT: -9/-4, HIIT: -6/-4, SIT: -7/-4 mmHg) while peak reductions were similar between protocols for SBP (MICT: -13±9, HIIT: -8±11, SIT: -12±11 mmHg; P=0.387) and DBP (MICT: -7±8, HIIT: -6±10, SIT: -10±8 mmHg; P=0.346). SBP after MICT was lower than after the CTRL (115±12 vs. 122±14 mmHg; p=0.092) and HIIT (115±12 vs. 118±11 mmHg; p=0.090) sessions, whereas DBP was lower after MICT compared to CTRL 60 min post-exercise (68±9 vs. 75±9 mmHg; P=0.079). During the night, both SBP and DBP were lower compared to day though there were no differences between sessions (P=0.242). With a limited data set, these results demonstrate there were no differences in PEH between protocols. While only MICT was able to elicit statistically significant reductions in BP over the entire post-exercise period and there were few statistical differences between the high-intensity exercise protocols and the control, it appears as if HIIT and SIT are capable of eliciting large reductions in BP similar to MICT, though more data collection is necessary to confidently determine this.

Convocation Year

2020

Convocation Season

Fall

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