Maximum Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in Exercise-Trained and Sedentary Healthy Males in Ilorin, Nigeria

摘要

The effect of exercise-training on heart rate and blood pressure both at rest and after an all out effort on a bicycle ergometer was studied in 87 healthy Nigerian males. The age groups of the subjects are 15-19, 20-24, 25-29 and 30-34 years. Results showed that exercise-trained individuals have a significantly lower resting rate (p<0.05) and a significantly lower maximum heart rate (p<0.05) than sedentary individuals in all the age groups. However, no significant difference was recorded in the blood pressure (both systole and diastole) between exercise-trained and sedentary individuals in all the age groups. Endurance training, through improvement of heart efficiency may improve cardiac autonomic balance; increasing parasympathetic while decreasing sympathetic stimulation of the heart. Exercise training results in markedly lower heart rate readings in exercise-trained individuals compared with sedentary individuals.