Blood pressure variation is not associated with physical fitness and functional mobility in hypertensive elderly women

Abstract

Objective: to analyse the association of variations in blood pressure (BP) with some components of physical fitness related to health and functional mobility in elderly hypertensive women. Methodology: 37 volunteers aged between 61 and 80 years were evaluated at the Laboratory of Teaching, Research and Extension on Aging (LEPEEn). BP was measured at rest and 15 minutes after the tests were performed, in a sitting position. Body composition, handgrip strength (HGS), sitting and standing from a chair (SGC), stationary gait (SG), time up and go (TUG), and walking speed (WS) tests were performed. Pearson's linear correlation was used to verify possible associations between variables. Results: the BP variation (Δ) between rest and recovery did not show a significant difference (p > 0.05). The HGS of the dominant limb and the performance in the TUG and WS tests were satisfactory. However, the results obtained in the SGC and SG tests were slightly below the expected. It was observed that the percentage of skeletal muscle was considered normal, but the percentage of fat and the body mass index were above the normal range. Conclusion: it is likely that excess fat may have influenced the hypotensive response after the tests, thus corroborating the lack of association between the study variables.