AEROBIC EXERCISE AND BLOOD PRESSURE--META-ANALYSIS

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DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from Investigator's Abstract) Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from hypertension, a condition associated with increased risk for stroke, heart attack, and kidney failure. While non-pharmacological intervention has resulted in dramatic reductions in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure for those with elevated pressures, a debate continues over the efficacy of pharmacological intervention because of deleterious side effects. As a result, there has been an increased interest in aerobic exercise as a non-pharmacologic approach in treating hypertension. Recent reviews of literature have synthesized research using the 'traditional' approach (chronologically arranging and describing the studies, perhaps by sub-topic) which may result in subjective, non-replicable conclusions. Consequently, the relationships among such variables as subject characteristics, experimental design quality, training program characteristics, and how they contribute to changes in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure is not clear. In this proposed project, the meta-analytic approach will be used to synthesize research on the relationships among variables associated with aerobic exercise intervention and resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults. Meta-analysis is a method of pooling the results of separate studies. It is a quantitative approach for increasing statistical power of primary end points and subgroups, resolving uncertainty when studies disagree, improving estimates of effect sizes, and answering questions not posed at the start of individual trials. To date, no recent study has quantitatively synthesized the existing literature regarding the role of aerobic exercise as a non-pharmacologic therapy in reducing resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure among adults. The purpose of this study is to use the meta-analytic approach to examine the effects of aerobic exercise on resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults. The investigators point out that the results of this project should provide a clarification of the role of aerobic exercise as a non-pharmacologic intervention for reducing resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults.