Effectiveness of Walking Exercise Therapy on Reducing Blood Pressure in Patients with Hypertension

Abstract

Hypertension requires proper management that may include both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. For high-risk patients, the purpose of hypertension management is to achieve blood pressure below 130/80 mmHg, and less or equal to 140/90 mmHg for low-risk patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of walking exercise therapy on reducing blood pressure in patients with hypertension. This study used a quasi-experimental design with a control group (nonrandomized control group pretest-posttest design), and was conducted in Kulur village Maluku. The study population was all hypertensive patients in Kulur village. The samples were 60 patients who met the inclusion criteria, i.e., having primary hypertension, aged 20 to 50 years old, having no injuries in the upper or lower extremities, and having muscle strength within normal limits (scale of 5). The samples were recruited using a consecutive sampling technique and divided into the intervention group (n=30) and the control group (n=30). Walking exercise interventions were given to patients in the intervention group. Data were collected through blood pressure measurements using a mercury sphygmomanometer which had been calibrated to ensure that the results of the measurement were valid. Analysis of the data was performed using Wilcoxon. He results showed a decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure with the highest mean value occurred ​in the intervention group and the control group with a significance value of Pvalue=0,001 (ɑ= <0,05), respectively. Walking exercise interventions affects the decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with hypertension