The Effect of Physical Activities on Blood Pressure: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Competitive-Level Masters Basketball Players

Objectives. Current European and American hypertension guidelines recommend regular physical activity, but, commonly, physical activities are not the first-line choice by patients in reducing blood pressure (BP), as they may be concerned about the opposite effect. Even high normal BP (systolic BP (SBP) 130–139mmHg and/or diastolic BP (DBP) 85–89mmHg) is considered to influence the risk of adverse cardiovascular events, but several studies have reported a decrease in SBP and DBP blood pressure after physical activity.
Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted as part of a project related to identifying risk factors for life-threatening clinical events in athletes at the master level. The study included 45 men’s basketball masters players from different regions of Latvia from May to December 2022 who consented to participate in the study. All athletes were asked to complete the questionnaire, and body measurements were taken. Electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings and blood pressure measurements were registered before, during and after exercise (60 minutes of basketball training). Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS 28.0.1.1.
Results. The mean age was 66.96 years (SD = 8.03) (range 49-85 years), and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.88 kg/m2. The average SBP and DBP at rest and after exercise show a reduction in post-workout recordings (146.69 mmHg (SD = 11.72) and 98.20 mmHg (SD = 11.43); 145.00 mmHg (SD = 12.93) and 91.76 mmHg (SD = 11.08), respectively). Players with elevated SBP > 140mmHg (N = 31) and DBP > 90 mmHg (N = 36) had an even more significant reduction (152.2 mmHg (SD = 9.59) and 102.61 mmHg (SD = 7.18); 147.26 mmHg (SD = 12.86) and 93.83 mmHg (SD = 10.54), respectively. There is a statistically significant reduction in DBP (t = 3.47, p = 0.01), but not in SBP (t = 0.76, p = 0.450), but a closer correlation for players with elevated SBP (t = 1.88, p = 0.70) and DBP (t = 4.80, p < 0.01).
Conclusions. Aerobic exercises have a blood pressure lowering effect both for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, contributing a statistically significant difference for DBP for all players (p = 0.01) and specifically for patients with elevated BP already before exercis e (p < 0.01).