Effects of systolic blood pressure (SBP) on a postural stability in elderly men subjected to moderate exercise.

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of SPB on a range of postural stability changes occurring after moderate exercise in elderly people. Twenty-seven males from the age of 65-81 years old (mean 71.6±4.9 years) took part in the study. The postural stability during bipedal quiet standing was tested directly before and after 10-min of exercise on a cycloergometer. The level of exercise intensity was predefined on the basis of subject's heart rate (HR). The study demonstrated that only small fractions of variation in post-exercise values of path length and area 95% could be explained by SPB at rest by the application of linear model (R(2)=5.3%, or 10.8%, respectively). The application of non-linear model, graphically represented by a parabola, revealed that the percentages of variations in path length and area 95% which could be explained by the systolic blood pressure (SBP) at rest amounted to 24.1% and 36.6%, respectively. Therefore, lower or higher values of SBP are related to the risk of increased path length and area 95%, which in turn are reflected in a temporary decrease in postural stability.