Abstract
Along with dietary measures and weight reduction, physical activity (PA) is one of the basic non-pharmacological measures in the treatment of arterial hypertension. Observational studies have shown that men and women who regularly attend PA have a 24% and 27%, respectively, lower risk of cardiovascular dis-ease than those who do not.
Regular PA is as effective as pharmacotherapy in the treatment of arterial hypertension. The amount of systolic blood pressure reduction after physical activity depends on the systolic BP value before the onset of PA and increases in proportion to the rise in BP.
The degree of BP reduction also depends on the type of physical activity that the individual performs. The basic types of PA include endurance training and resistance training.
The greatest decrease in blood pressure occurs when the two types of exercise mentioned above are combined.