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

Introduction: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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). Conclusions: 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.