Effectiveness of motivational interviewing and physical activity on prescription on leisure exercise time in subjects suffering from mild to moderate hypertension

Abstract

BackgroundPhysical inactivity is considered to be the strongest individual risk factor for poor health in Sweden. It has been shown that increased physical activity can reduce hypertension and the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The objective of the present pilot study was to investigate whether a combination of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Physical Activity on Prescription (PAP) would increase leisure exercise time and subsequently improve health-related variables.MethodsThis pilot study was of a repeated measures design, with a 15 months intervention in 31 patients with mild to moderate hypertension. Primary outcome parameter was leisure exercise time and secondary outcome parameters were changes in blood pressure, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, lipid status, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max). Assessments of the outcome parameters were made at baseline and after 3, 9 and 15 months.ResultsLeisure exercise time improved significantly from < 60 min/week at baseline to a mean activity level of 300 (± 165) minutes/week at 15 months follow up. Furthermore, statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) were observed in systolic (-14,5 ± 8.3 mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure (-5,1 ± 5.8 mmHg), heart rate (-4.9 ± 8.7 beats/min, weight (-1.2 ± 3.4 kg) BMI -0.6 ± 1.2 kg/m2), waist circumference (-3.5 ± 4.1 cm) as well as in VO2 max (2.94 ± 3.8 ml/kg and 0.23, ± 0.34 lit/min) upon intervention as compared to baseline.ConclusionsA 15 month intervention period with MI, in combination with PAP, significantly increased leisure exercise time and improved health-related variables in hypertensive patients. This outcome warrants further research to investigate the efficacy of MI and PAP in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension.

The Effect of Physical Activity Interventions on Glycosylated Haemoglobin (HbA1c) in Non-diabetic Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…We identified 15 studies (Table 1) [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] addressing the effect of physical activity on glycaemic control measured by HbA 1c levels in non-diabetic populations, which were conducted in eight countries: two from the Americas (North and South America), two from Asia, three from Europe and one from Oceania. Reports were published between 2000 and 2016, and they included studies using the following experimental designs: eight were RCTs, five were pre-post non-randomised experimental studies and two were controlled pre-post studies.…”

The evaluation of physical activity for community‐dwelling patients with hypertension

“…Despite the important role played by antihypertension medication in hypertension treatment, nonpharmacological treatments, such as regular physical activity (PA), also have beneficial effects on chronic health conditions for hypertensive patients (Brooks & Ferro, ; Carlson, Maynard, Fulton, Hootman, & Yoon, ). A number of studies have confirmed that regular PA could prevent, delay and even reverse hypertension and improve physiological and mental health for patients with hypertension (Brooks & Ferro, ; Sjöling, Lundberg, Englund, Westman, & Jong, ). Therefore, it is very important to gain a better understanding of the status of PA for hypertensive patients and the factors that influenced PA in China, enabling us to decide what measures should be taken.…”

Effect of long-term physical exercise on blood pressure in African Americans

“…Thus, perhaps physical exercise can be used as a nonpharmacological, behavioral intervention for a variety of patients diagnosed with hypertension and able to engage in a minimum of 20 minutes of moderately intense physical exercise at least three times per week. People who can maintain a regular regimen of activity that is of longer duration or of more vigorous intensity are likely to derive greater health benefits than individuals who lead sedentary lives of physical inactivity which is considered to be the strongest individual risk factor for poor health (63). Exercise and lifestyle changes as therapeutic interventions for successfully managing symptoms of hypertension have been found to be efficacious in previous controlled studies (32, 41,44,69,70,71).…”