A new study published this month in The American Journal of Cardiology (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000291491103445X) shows the effects of swimming training on blood pressure and vascular function in adults older than 50.

Picture by Simon Sez (http://simon-sez.deviantart.com/)

The study used 43 otherwise healthy adults older than 50 with pre-hypertension or stage 1 hypertension who were not on any medication. They assigned them to 12 weeks of swimming exercise or attention time controls. The control group performed gentle relaxation exercise. They concluded that swimming evokes hypotensive effects and improvements in vascular function in previously sedentary older adults.

The Whole Story

The study involved 43 adults between 50 and 80 years of age who had either stage 1 systolic hypertension or prehypertension. None of them had chronic diseases, took antihypertensive medications, had been smoking, had exercised regularly during the preceding 2 years, or had physical complications that would have prohibited them from exercising.

Twenty-four of the adults were  in the swimming exercise group, which participated in a supervised 12-week swimming training program. Nineteen of the adults were enrolled in relaxation exercises. The swimming program started of slow, swimming with an instructor for 15 to 20 minutes a day, 3 to 4 days a week. Their fitness level improved after a few weeks and they began exercising 40 to 45 minutes a day, 3 to 4 days a week.

Their fitness level also improved their distance during the training program. In the first week they were swimming around 550 meters a day; In the fourth week they were swimming around 1,000 meters a day; And in the final week they were swimming around 1,400 meters a day.

Swimming Helps

The study found that swimming training decreases systolic BP in adults over 50 years of age with increased BP. They also found that swimming training significantly improves arterial compliance, endothelium-dependent vasodilation, and cardiovagal BRS. Which shows that swimming benefits key vascular functions.

This is just one more reason why it is healthy and good to swim.