Cardiovascular Responses During Resistance Exercise in Patients with Parkinson Disease

Background: Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) present cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction which impairs blood pressure control. However, cardiovascular responses during resistance exercise are unknown in these patients. Objective: Investigate the cardiovascular responses during resistance exercise performed with different muscle masses, in patients with PD. Design: Two groups, repeated-measures design. Setting: Exercise Hemodynamic Laboratory, School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo. Participants: Thirteen patients with PD (4 women, 62.7±1.3 years, stages 2-3 of modified Hoehn and Yahr scale; "on" state of medication) and thirteen paired controls without PD (7 women, 66.2±2.0years) Interventions: Both groups performed, in a random order, bilateral and unilateral knee extension exercises (2 sets, 10–12 RM, 2 min of interval). Main Outcome Measurements: Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) were assessed before (pre) and during the exercises. Results: Independent of set and exercise type, SBP and HR increases were significantly lower in PD than the control group (combined values: +45±2 vs. +73±4 mmHg and +18±1 vs. +31±2 bpm, P =.003 and .007, respectively). Independently of group and set, the SBP increase was greater in the bilateral than the unilateral exercise (combined values: +63±4 vs +54±3 mmHg, P=.002), while the HR increase was similar. In addition, independently of group and exercise type, the SBP increase was higher in the 2nd than the 1st set (combined values: +56±4 vs +61±4 mmHg, P=.04), while the HR increases were similar. Conclusions: Patients with PD present attenuated 25 increases in SBP and HR during resistance exercise in comparison with healthy subjects. These results support that resistance exercise is safe and well tolerated for patients with PD from a cardiovascular point of view supporting its recommendation for this population