The Effect of Resistance Training on Plasma Levels of Endothelin 1 and Blood Pressure in Older Men

Endothelin 1, which is secreted by vascular endothelial cells, has been identified as the most potent vasoconstrictor. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a course of endothelin-1 plasma resistance training and its relationship with blood pressure in older men.

In this quasi-experimental study, 30 elderly men (mean age 62.28 ± 8.08 years, height 170 ± 6.85 cm, weight 76 ± 12.09 kg, body mass index 26.30 ± 4.12 kg/M2, and WHR 0.92 ± 0.4) were purposively selected and randomly divided into two groups of control (N = 15) and experimental (N = 15). Plasma levels of endothelin-1, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured before and after eight weeks of exercise. An independent t-test was used to examine intra-group differences and inter-group differences, and the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationship between endothelin-1 and blood pressure. The significance level was considered less than 0.05.

This study showed that eight weeks of resistance training significantly reduced the plasma levels of endothelin 1 in older men (P = 0.002). Also, eight weeks of resistance training significantly reduced the systolic blood pressure of older men (P = 0.001), but the decrease in diastolic blood pressure was not significant (P = 0.082). There was a direct and significant correlation between the concentration of endothelin one and systolic blood pressure (P = 0.0510, R = 0.019). However, no correlation was observed between endothelin 1 concentration and diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.375, R = 0.055).

According to the research results, eight weeks of resistance training seems to be associated with decreased plasma levels of endothelin one and a decrease in blood pressure, especially systolic blood pressure. Therefore, it seems that a resistance training course according to the present study protocol can be useful in lowering blood pressure following endometrial plasma levels as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and hypertension in older men.