Safety of an Unsupervised Physical Activity Program and Effects Over Blood Pressure, Physical Fitness and Quality of Life of Elderly Hypertensive Patients

The present study was approved by the Human and Animal Ethics Committee of the institution and the participants were only randomized to participate after having signed the informed consent form.

A population of elderly hypertensive patients registered at a reference center for hypertension treatment was selected. The sample size was calculated considering a test power of 80% with significance level of 5% and estimating a difference to be observed within the BP values of 7 mmHg for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 4 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The sample calculated was 25 participants in each group being selected 20% more in case of losses.

An electronic chart was created with numbers for the patients that were randomized into control (CG) and intervention groups (IG).

The IG was included in an USPAP and the control group was kept under the usual care of the service that includes orientation to perform PA according to the World Health Organization recommendations.

Before the beginning of the protocol clinical and laboratorial data collected included: weight, height, waist circumference, fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1C and lipid profile.