Short-term endurance training after coronary artery bypass grafting improves insulin resistance parameters in patients with hypertension.

Background: It has been shown that short-term exercise training improves insulin resistance parameters in patients with ischaemic heart disease. The effects of such a rehabilitation programme in patients with hypertension have not been well established.

Aim: To assess whether short-term endurance training after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) may improve metabolic parameters and reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension.

Methods: The study group consisted of 30 male patients (15 with hypertension and 15 normotensive) aged 55+/-2.1 years who underwent CABG 1 to 6 months before the initiation of a 3-week endurance training. Glucose, insulin and C-peptide blood levels as well as binding and degradation of 125I-insulin by erythrocyte receptors were assessed before and after the training programme. The effects of training on blood pressure values were also evaluated.

Results: A significant improvement (p<0.01) in the insulin resistance parameters, i.e. binding and degradation of labelled insulin was noted only in patients with hypertension. This was accompanied by a significant (p<0.05) increase in the HDL-cholesterol level. In the subgroup with hypertension, both the exercise systolic and diastolic pressures decreased significantly (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively), and similar changes were noted in the resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures values (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Rehabilitation after CABG based on the endurance training was especially effective in patients with hypertension in whom beneficial changes in some metabolic risk factors of ischaemic heart disease as well as the reduction in the blood pressure values were observed.