저항 훈련이 고혈압 환자의 혈압을 낮추는 효과가 있다는 사실은 알려져 있지만,강도에 따라 자율신경 반응 패턴이 어떻게 달라지는지는 충분히 규명되지 않았다. 칠레와 스페인 연구팀의 새로운 연구가 이 질문에 답했다.
연구팀은 약물 치료 중인 고혈압 환자 31명을 대상으로 무작위 임상시험을 실시했다. 참여자들은 총 훈련 볼륨을 맞춰 고강도저항 훈련 세션과 저강도저항 훈련 세션을 각각 수행했다. 운동 전후로 혈압과 심박변이도를 측정했다. 연구는 2026년 4월 Physiological Reports에 게재됐다.
두 강도 모두 혈압을 유의미하게 낮추는 운동 후 저혈압 효과를 나타냈으며,두 세션 사이의 유의미한 상호작용은 관찰되지 않았다. 즉 고강도와 저강도 저항 훈련은 혈압 강하 효과 면에서 동등했다.
그러나 자율신경 반응은 달랐다. 저강도 세션에서는 저강도의 저주파 지표가 혈압 감소와 음의 상관관계를 보였고, 고강도 세션에서는 ΔV1%HRV 지표가 혈압 감소와 양의 상관을 보였다. 전반적으로 저강도 훈련에서 심장 부교감 지표의 감소가 더 뚜렷했으며, 저강도 프로토콜에서 교감신경 조절 변화와 부교감 감소가 더 큰 운동 후 혈압 강하와 연관됐다.
이번 연구는 강도와 무관하게 저항 훈련이 혈압 관리에 유효한 도구임을 재확인하면서도, 자율신경 경로가 다를 수 있음을 시사한다. 이 차이가 장기적인 심혈관 결과에 어떤 의미를 가지는지는 추가적인 종단 연구가 필요하다.
출처: Benavides-Roca LA et al. Association between cardiac autonomic control and blood pressure response to resistance training in adults with pharmacologically treated hypertension. Physiol Rep. 2026;14:e70863. PMID: 41943475
Resistance training is recognized as a viable non-pharmacological strategy for managing blood pressure in hypertensive individuals, but the relationship between training intensity, autonomic responses, and post-exercise hypotension remains incompletely understood. A new randomized clinical trial from Chilean and Spanish researchers sheds light on this question.
The study enrolled 31 adults with pharmacologically treated hypertension and had participants complete two resistance training sessions — one at high intensity (80% of one-repetition maximum) and one at low intensity (40% of one-repetition maximum) — matched for total training volume, in randomized order. Blood pressure and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured before and after each session. The study was published in Physiological Reports.
Both high and low intensity resistance training produced significant post-exercise blood pressure reductions. No significant interaction was observed between intensity and the magnitude of blood pressure reduction (p > 0.05), indicating that the two protocols produced equivalent hypotensive effects at the group level — a clinically relevant finding for practitioners prescribing resistance training to hypertensive patients.
Despite equivalent blood pressure outcomes, the autonomic responses differed meaningfully between protocols. During the high intensity session, the ΔV1% HRV index was positively correlated with blood pressure reductions. During the low intensity session, low frequency HRV was negatively correlated with blood pressure. Overall, the low intensity protocol was characterized by a more pronounced cardiac autonomic response with greater vagal withdrawal, and changes in cardiac sympathetic modulation and greater reductions in parasympathetic modulation were associated with a greater post-exercise hypotensive response in the low intensity condition.
These differing autonomic profiles suggest that while the hemodynamic outcomes appear equivalent, the physiological mechanisms underlying post-exercise hypotension may vary by intensity. Whether these differential autonomic responses have long-term implications for cardiovascular adaptation or clinical outcomes remains an open question that longitudinal studies should address.
Source: Benavides-Roca LA et al. Association between cardiac autonomic control and blood pressure response to resistance training in adults with pharmacologically treated hypertension. Physiol Rep. 2026;14(7):e70863. PMID: 41943475
