Research
Hormonal
Endurance training reduces blood pressure primarily by lowering systemic vascular resistance through decreased sympathetic nervous system activity and renin-angiotensin system activity.
Understanding that exercise works by calming the nervous system and blood vessels can help motivate adherence, as these benefits accumulate over time with consistent training.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Endurance training decreases blood pressure through a reduction in systemic vascular resistance, in which the sympathetic nervous system and the renin–angiotensin system appear to be involved...
Why this rating
Based on pooled data from 17 study groups showing hemodynamic changes.
Source
Effect of exercise on blood pressure control in hypertensive patients
Robert Fagard et al. · European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation · 2007
DOI 10.1097/hjr.0b013e3280128bbb
Meta-analysis · 81 studiesCited 438×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Dynamic aerobic endurance training significantly reduces resting and daytime ambulatory blood pressure in hypertensive patients, with effects mediated by reduced systemic vascular resistance and sympathetic tone.Strong
- Resistance training reduces blood pressure in non-hypertensive populations, but evidence for hypertensive patients is currently insufficient due to a lack of dedicated trials.Moderate
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