Dynamic thermographic imaging method for quantifying dermal perfusion: potential and limitations

A new method of quantifying dermal perfusion on a regional basis using a dynamic thermographic technique is investigated. The technique is based on the relationship between dermal perfusion and the rate of skin surface reheating following the application of a transient cold challenge predicted by a theoretical model. Measurements were made using images from a Philips thermographic camera under rigorously controlled conditions. Experimentation on undisturbed volar forerm skin of normal subjects showed that measurements could be repeated with good accuracy but that differences in normalised reheat temperatures between subjects were highly dependent on subcutaneous fat thickness. Comparisons between normal and occluded foreams indicated that reheat temperatures were not sensitive to changes in low levels of dermal perfusion. Conversely, stimulation of dermal blood flow with prostaglandin E₂ did produce significant differences from control conditions, but quantifying the axtent of this hyperaemia was limited by the effects of intersubject variations in fat thickness. Quantifying skin blood flow from skin temperature reheat rates is shown to be limited by a lack of sensitivity and a dependence on subcutaneous fat thickness, although dynamic thermography is able to provide useful information on regional variations in skin perfusion which could not be reliably obtained from static temperature measurements alone.     

面部皮肤温度与面部血流量关系的对照观察

使用红外热像方法和超声多普勒技术,对３０ 例周围性面神经麻痹患者面部表浅的颞浅动脉和面动脉的血流量与其分布区的皮肤温度进行了对照观察。结果显示：（１）面部动脉血流量较大者,其分布区的皮肤温度也较高,反之则较低;（２）在面部的穴位针刺治疗后,面部血流量增加,皮肤温度随之上升;（３）在面部所分析的四个区域之间和针刺的前后,温度与血流的对应关系趋向基本一致,两者比值相差的范围较小,在０９５３８～１２８３５∶１ 之间。说明面部动脉与相应供血区的皮肤温度有一定的定量关系。     

Skin AVA and capillary dilatation and constriction induced by local skin heating

In conscious sheep, total femoral blood flow and flow through arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs) and capillaries (CAP) in skin of the hindleg were measured employing electromagnetic and radioactive microsphere techniques. Core temperature (T _c) was manipulated using intravascular heat exchangers and hindleg skin temperature (T _sk) was manipulated by immersion in temperature controlled water. WithT _c set 1°C above normal, AVA flow was highest at the lowestT _sk tested (34°C); AVAs progressively constricted asT _sk was increased from 34 to 40–41°C, then dilated again asT _sk reached the highest levels tested (42–44°C). Skin CAP flow was not altered byT _sk of 34 to 42°C but was increased at aT _sk of 44°C. Therefore total skin blood flow followed essentially the same pattern as AVA flow; total femoral flow also followed this pattern. WhenT _c was set 0.5°C below normal, AVA flow was low at all levels ofT _sk. It is concluded thatT _c plays a dominant role in control of skin blood flow, however, onceT _c is at a level requiring increased heat loss,T _sk exerts an extremely potent influence on the nature and magnitude of changes in skin blood flow. The pattern of flow changes appears to reflect principally a negative feedback mechanism aimed at maintainingT _sk at approximately 40°C; this may contrast with mechanisms associated with sweating and/or active vasodilation in other species.     

Cardiovascular Feedback During Dynamic Exercise

The effects of verbal instructions, interbeat interval feedback, and feedback of the product of interbeat interval and pulse transit time in enabling subjects to decrease cardiovascular activity during exercise were studied in 36 healthy volunteers cycling a modified bicycle ergometer. During the 4 training sessions subjects given product feedback showed smaller decreases in interbeat interval and pulse transit time during exercise than did subjects receiving only verbal instructions. Subjects receiving interbeat interval feedback fell between the other two conditions. On the fifth session, during which feedback was not provided, no differences were found among the three conditions. The use of feedback of the product of interbeat interval and pulse transit time to control the sympathetic input to the heart and in the treatment of angina pectoris is discussed.     

Venous return from distal regions affects heat loss from the arms and legs during exercise-induced thermal loads

Summary To study the role of venous return from distal parts of the extremities in influencing heat loss from the more proximal parts, changes in mean skin temperature (ˉT _sk) of the non-exercising extremities were measured by color thermography during leg and arm exercise in eight healthy subjects. Thirty minutes of either leg or arm exercise at an ambient temperature (T _a) of 20° C or 30° C produced a greatly increased blood flow in the hand or foot and a great increase in venous return through the superficial skin veins of the extremities. During the first 10 min of recovery from the exercise, blood flow to and venous return from the hand or foot on the tested side was occluded with a wrist or ankle cuff at a pressure of 33.3 kPa (250 mm Hg), while blood flow to the control hand or foot remained undisturbed. During the 10-min wrist occlusion, ˉT _sk increased significantly from 28.3°±0.41° C to 30.1°±0.29° C in the control forearm, but remained at nearly the same level (28.0°±0.34° C to 28.2°±0.25° C) in the occluded forearm. In the legs, although ˉT _sk on both sides was virtually identical (32.0°±0.31° C, control vs 32.0°±0.36° C, tested) before occlusion, ˉT _sk on the control side (32.6°±0.27° C) was significantly higher than that on the tested side (32.2°±0.21° C) after ankle occlusion. As monitored by a laser-Doppler flowmeter, skin blood flow in both forearms and legs did not increase but rather decreased during the 30-min recovery. Thus, the increase in ˉT _skin the control forearm or leg cannot be explained by the change in forearmor leg-skin blood flow. We estimated the contribution of the heat transferred from the venous blood of the hand to be 89% of the increase in heat loss from the forearm during occlusion atT _a of 20° C, and to be 67% from the occluded leg atT _a of 30° C. The present results suggest that heat loss from proximal parts of the extremities is greatly affected by the change in blood flow through the distal parts of the extremities, and such venous blood flow plays an important role in the regulation of heat dissipation during exercise in cool (20° C) to warm (30° C) environments.     

Right atrial pressure and forearm blood flow during prolonged exercise in a hot environment

Right atrial pressure (RAP) at rest is known to be reduced by an increase in skin blood flow (SkBF) in a hot environment. However, there is no clear evidence that this is so during exercise. To clarify the effect of the increase in SkBF on RAP during exercise, we measured forearm blood flow (FBF) (as an index of SkBF) and RAP continuously using a Swan-Ganz catheter in five male volunteers exercising on a cycle ergometer at 60% of peak aerobic power for 50 min in a hot environment (30°C, relative humidity 20%). Cardiac output increased from 5.5±0.21/min at rest to 17.9±1.21/min (mean±SE, P<0.01) in the first 10 min of exercise and then remained steady until the end of exercise. FBF did not change significantly during the first 5 min, but then increased from 2.7±0.5 ml/100 ml per min at rest to 10.8±1.7 ml/100 ml per min (P<0.001) by 25 min as pulmonary arterial blood temperature (T _b) rose from 37.0±0.1°C to 38.1±0.1°C (P<0.001). FBF then reached a plateau, despite a continuing increase in T _b. RAP increased significantly from 4.3±0.8 to 7.6±1.2 mm Hg (P<0.001) during the first 5 min of exercise and then gradually declined to 6.1±1.0 mm Hg by 25 min (P<0.001 vs. 5 min) and further to 5.7±1.0 mm Hg by 50 min, a value not significantly higher than at rest. This reduction in RAP during exercise was significantly correlated with the increase in FBF (r=–0.97, P<0.001) with a regression equation of RAP=–0.25×FBF+8.8. These results suggest that the decrease in RAP after 5 min exercise was caused by an increase in SkBF during exercise in a hot environment.Part of this work has been published in abstract form [FASEB J 5A1400 (1991)]     

Computational Analysis of the Effects of Exercise on Hemodynamics in the Carotid Bifurcation

The important influence of hemodynamic factors in the initiation and progression of arterial disease has led to numerous studies to computationally simulate blood flow at sites of disease and examine potential correlative factors. This study considers the differences in hemodynamics produced by varying heart rate in a fully coupled fluid-structure three-dimensional finite element model of a carotid bifurcation. Two cases with a 50% increase in heart rate are considered: one in which peripheral resistance is uniformly reduced to maintain constant mean arterial pressure, resulting in an increase in mean flow, and a second in which cerebral vascular resistance is held constant so that mean carotid artery flow is nearly unchanged. Results show that, with increased flow rate, the flow patterns are relatively unchanged, but the magnitudes of mean and instantaneous wall shear stress are increased roughly in proportion to the flow rate, except at the time of minimum flow (and maximum flow separation) when shear stress in the carotid bulb is increased in magnitude more than threefold. When cerebral peripheral resistance is held constant, the differences are much smaller, except again at end diastole. Maximum wall shear stress temporal gradient is elevated in both cases with elevated heart rate. Changes in oscillatory shear index are minimal. These findings suggest that changes in the local hemodynamics due to mild exercise may be relatively small in the carotid artery. © 2003 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC2003: 8719Uv, 8719Rr, 8380Lz     

Exercise thermoregulation after 6 h of chair rest, 6° head-down bed-rest,and water immersion deconditioning in men

The purpose was to investigate the mechanism for the excessive exercise hyperthermia following deconditioning (reduction of physical fitness). Rectal (T _re) and mean skin ( ) temperatures and thermoregulatory responses were measured in six men [mean (SD) age, 32 (6) years; mass, 78.26 (5.80) kg; surface area, 1.95 (0.11)m²; maximum oxygen uptake ( ), 48 (6) ml·min^–1·kg^–1; whilst supine in air at dry bulb temperature 23.2 (0.6)°C, relative humidity 31.1 (11.1)% and air speed 5.6 (0.1) m·min^–1] during 70 min of leg cycle exercise [51 (4)% ] in ambulatory control (AC), or following 6 h of chair rest (CR), 6° head-down bed rest (BR), and 20° (WI20) and 80° (WI80) foot-down water immersion [water temperature, 35.0 (0.1)°C]. Compared with the AC exercise T _re [mean (SD) 0.77 (0.13)°C], T _re after CR was 0.83 (0.08)°C (NS), after BR 0.92 (0.13)°C (^*P<0.05), after WI80 0.96 (0.13)°C^*, and after WI20 1.03 (0.09)°C^*. All responded similarly to exercise: they decreased (NS) by 0.5–0.7°C in minutes 4–8 and equilibrated at +0.1 to +0.5°C at 60–70. Skin heat conductance was not different among the five conditions (range = 147–159 kJ·m^–2·h^–1·°C^–1). Results from an intercorrelation matrix suggested that total body sweat rate was more closely related toT _re at 70 min (T _re70) than limb sweat rate or blood flow. Only 36% of the variability inT _re70 could be accounted for by total sweating, and less than 10% from total body dehydration. It would appear that multiple factors are involved which may include change in sensitivity of thermo- and osmoreceptors.     

Infrared thermal imaging of the inner canthus of the eye as an estimator of body core temperature

Several studies suggest that the temperature of the inner canthus of the eye (T_ca), determined with infrared thermal imaging, is an appropriate method for core temperature estimation in mass screening of fever. However, these studies used the error prone tympanic temperature as a reference. Therefore, we compared T_ca to oesophageal temperature (T_es) as gold standard in 10 subjects during four conditions: rest, exercise, recovery and passive heating. T_ca and T_es differed significantly during all conditions (mean ΔT_es???T_ca 1.80?±?0.89°C) and their relationship was inconsistent between conditions. Also within the rest condition alone, intersubject variability was too large for a reliable estimation of core temperature. This poses doubts on the use of T_ca as a technique for core temperature estimation, although generalization of these results to fever detection should be verified experimentally using febrile patients.     

Thermographic evaluation of hind paw skin temperature and functional recovery of locomotion after sciatic nerve crush in rats

INTRODUCTION:

Peripheral nerves are often damaged by direct mechanical injury, diseases, and tumors. The peripheral nerve injuries that result from these conditions can lead to a partial or complete loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic functions, which in turn are related to changes in skin temperature, in the involved segments of the body. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in hind paw skin temperature after sciatic nerve crush in rats in an attempt to determine whether changes in skin temperature correlate with the functional recovery of locomotion.

METHODS:

Wistar rats were divided into three groups: control (n = 7), sham (n = 25), and crush (n = 25). All groups were subjected to thermographic, functional, and histological assessments.

RESULTS:

ΔT in the crush group was different from the control and sham groups at the 1^st, 3^rd and 7^rd postoperative days (p<0.05). The functional recovery from the crush group returned to normal values between the 3^rd and 4^th week post-injury, and morphological analysis of the nerve revealed incomplete regeneration at the 4^th week after injury.

DISCUSSION:

This study is the first demonstration that sciatic nerve crush in rats induces an increase in hind paw skin temperature and that skin temperature changes do not correlate closely with functional recovery     

正常青年体表温度分布的红外热像分析

利用TTM红外热成像系统对208例正常青年男女进行体表温度测量.根据人体解剖学分区,获得人体体表21个部位的温度分布特征,并分析了人体左右两侧温度的对称性.结果表明正常青年体表的温度对称性很好,两侧温差不超过0.2 ℃.本研究初步建立了青年男女体表温度参考值范围的数据库,其结果可为红外热成像技术用于疾病诊断和健康评估提供一种参考标准.     

Different vascular responses in glabrous and nonglabrous skin with increasing core temperature during exercise

To elucidate the characteristics of vasomotor control in glabrous and nonglabrous skin during dynamic exercise, we compared the vascular responses in both areas to increasing core temperature during the cycle exercise for 30 min at different intensities in the range 20–60% of peak oxygen consumption (VO_2peak) in a total of 13 male and four female subjects in two experimental protocols. Skin blood flow was monitored using laser Doppler flowmetry. In protocol 1, the slope of the relationship between esophageal temperature (T _es) and cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) in the early phase of the exercise decreased (P < 0.05) with increasing exercise intensity at glabrous sites (palm) but not nonglabrous sites (dorsal hand). In protocol 2, to examine whether a difference in vascular responses in the two areas is due to the adrenergic vasoconstrictor system, the release of norepinephrine from adrenergic nerves in forearm and palmar skin was blocked locally by iontophoresis of bretylium tosylate (BT). The administration of BT diminished completely the change of CVC in the palm during the exercise but did not alter the response in the forearm compared with the untreated site. In the two areas, neither the T _es threshold for vasodilation nor the change in CVC above the threshold in the middle and late phase of the exercise was influenced by the intensity of the exercise. These results suggest that, in the early phase of the exercise, light-to-moderate exercise reduces in an intensity-dependent manner the thermal sensitivity for vasodilation in glabrous skin but not nonglabrous skin via an adrenergic vasoconstrictor pathway.     

Thermoregulatory responses of paraplegic and able-bodied athletes at rest and during prolonged upper body exercise and passive recovery

The thermoregulatory responses of ten paraplegic (PA; T3/4-L4) and nine able-bodied (AB) upper body trained athletes were examined at rest and during prolonged arm-cranking exercise and passive recovery. Exercise was performed for 90 min at 80% peak heart rate, and at 21.5 (1.7)°C and 47.0 (7.8)% relative humidity on a Monark cycle ergometer (Ergomedic 814E) adapted for arm exercise. Mean peak oxygen uptake values for the PA and AB athlete groups were 2.12 (0.41) min⁻¹ and 3.19 (0.38) l · min⁻¹, respectively (P<0.05). At rest, there was no difference in aural temperature between groups [36.2 (0.4)°C for both groups]. However, upper body skin temperatures for the PA athletes were approximately 1.0 °C warmer than for the AB athletes, whereas lower body skin temperatures were cooler than those for the AB athletes (1.3 °C and 2.7 °C for the thigh and calf, respectively). Upper and lower body skin temperatures for the AB athletes were similar. During exercise, blood lactate peaked after 15 min of exercise for both groups [3.33 (1.26) mmol · l⁻¹ and 4.30 (1.03) mmol · l⁻¹ for the PA and AB athletes, respectively, P<0.05] and decreased throughout the remainder of the exercise period. Aural temperature increased by 0.7 (0.5)°C and 0.6 (0.4)°C for the AB and PA athletes, respectively. Calf skin temperature for the PA athletes increased during exercise by 1.4 (2.8)°C (P<0.05), whereas a decrease of 0.8 (2.0)°C (P<0.05) was observed for the AB athletes. During the first 20 min of recovery from exercise, the calf skin temperature of the AB athletes decreased further [−2.6 (1.3)°C; P<0.05]. Weight losses and changes in plasma volume were similar for both groups [0.7 (0.5) kg and 0.7 (0.4) kg; 5.4 (4.9)% and 9.7 (6.2)% for the PA and AB athletes, respectively]. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that the PA athletes exhibit different thermoregulatory responses at rest and during exercise and passive recovery to those of upper body trained AB athletes. Despite this, during 90 min of arm-crank exercise in a cool environment, the PA athletes appeared to be at no greater thermal risk than the AB athletes. Accepted: 7 May 1997     

The combined effects of local contact force and lower arm cooling upon cutaneous blood cell velocity of the fingertip

This study investigated the effects of finger contact force (FCF) and lower arm cooling upon cutaneous blood cell velocity (CBV) in the index finger. CBV of the distal finger-pad of the index finger was measured in eight participants while they exerted different FCF of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 4.9 and 9.8 N, at significantly different mean index finger skin temperatures of 8.0°C (SD 0.4), 14.9°C (SD 0.3) and 30.9°C (SD 0.5). These three levels of skin temperature were achieved by lower arm immersion in water at 5, 13 and 32°C, respectively. Main effects in CBV of FCF (P < 0.001) and water temperature condition (P < 0.001) were evident and a significant interaction (P < 0.001) between these factors indicated an exponential decay in CBV as FCF was increased in each water temperature condition. Mean decay constants (d) of three mono-exponential functions were significantly different from each other (P < 0.05) and their values for the 5, 13 and 32°C immersions were 2.16 N (SD 0.67), 1.41 N (SD 0.31) and 0.87 N (SD 0.21), respectively. In conclusion, a decrease in CBV in these conditions was evident with increasing levels of FCF and the three separate mono-exponential functions describing this relationship were separated by thermal states of the hand. Although decay constants became progressively greater at lower water temperature conditions, a cooler hand also had a lower initial and subsequently smaller decrements in CBV with increases of FCF.     

Influence of temperature on the distribution of blood in humans as assessed by electrical impedance

This study investigated whether ambient temperature influences the distribution of blood as indicated by electrical impedance. In ten supine humans, the room temperature was raised from 14 to 35°C. Skin temperature and blood flow on the thorax increased by 3.6 (SD 0.3)°C and 84 (SD 40)%, respectively, and by 9.8 (SD 1)°C and 115 (SD 45)%, respectively, on the extremities (P < 0.05). Cardiac output remained unchanged, ear temperature and heart rate became elevated, and the oesophageal temperature and mean arterial pressure decreased (P < 0.05). At five discrete frequencies (1.5, 5, 50, 100, 200 kHz) thoracic impedance was increased by 1.2 (SD 1) to 1.5 (SD 1) Ω (P < 0.05). In contrast, total body impedance was reduced by 16.4 (SD 5) Ω and leg impedance was reduced by 4.0 (SD 2) Ω, while an index of intracellular water within the thorax (the difference between the admittances at 100 kHz and 1.5 kHz) was decreased by 10 (SD 1) · 10⁻⁴ S (P < 0.05). The results would suggest that total body impedance is dominated by the impedance of the extremities. The increase in thoracic impedance and a decrease in leg impedance (as in total body impedance) could be explained by a redistribution of blood from the thorax to the extremities during heating. Such a translocation of blood was confirmed by a reduced impedance based index of intracellular water within the thorax. Accepted: 4 June 1999     

The role of adrenergic mechanisms in thermoregulatory control of blood flow through capillaries and arteriovenous anastomoses in the sheep hind limb

The possible role of adrenergic mechanisms in thermoregulatory changes in the partition of femoral blood flow between nutrient (capillary) and non-nutrient (arteriovenous anastomoses, AVA) circuits in the hind limb of conscious sheep has been investigated employing radioactive microsphere and electromagnetic blood flow measurement techniques. Constriction of AVAs, normally induced by spinal cooling, could be inhibited by phentolamine, whereas dilatation of AVAs, noramally induced by spinal heating, could be inhibited by noradrenaline or methoxamine. AVA constriction could be induced by noradrenaline or methoxamine, or dialation by phentolamine. Isoprenaline had a small dilator and propranolol a small constrictor effect on AVAs. It is concluded that adrenergic pathways involving predominantly -receptors play a role in thermoregulatory changes in skin blood flow (through AVAs) elicited by manipulation of CNS temperature; under these conditions, -receptors do not play any role, although manipulation of their activity will influence AVAs under non-thermoregulatory conditions. Capillary blood flows in skin, bone and fat were sensitive, at different ambient temperatures and to varying degrees, to some -and -adrenergic agents.     

长期运动后白细胞分类及细胞因子表达变化的研究

本研究拟探讨长期运动对不同项群运动员血细胞及细胞因子表达变化的影响。选取970名职业运动员按体育运动不同项群及选取对照分类如下：速度力量型、耐力型、表现难美型、技能准确型、隔网对抗型、同场对抗型、格斗对抗型、综合型;另有280名非从事专业体育运动的健康查体人员为非运动组。人全血细胞常规检测采用美国Sysmex XE2100全血细胞分析仪,细胞因子的检测采用美国Beckman Coulter GeXP多重基因表达分析系统。结果表明：运动员组与非运动员组的淋巴细胞百分比呈现差异,运动员组高于非运动员组。运动员组和非运动员组各组内基因表达无性别差异。白介素-8（IL-8）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、淋巴细胞黏附分子1（SELL）在运动员组表达上升,而白介素-4（IL-4）表达降低。而在不同项群运动组中,淋巴细胞黏附分子1（SELL）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白介素-8（IL-8）、白介素-4（IL-4）、细胞间黏附分子1（ICAM1）、血小板/内皮细胞黏附分子1（PECAM1）、白介素-6（IL-6）7个基因在各组间有统计学差异。部分细胞因子间和不同细胞比例改变具有相关性。结论：长期运动可引起淋巴细胞比例升高,细胞比例的改变可能是诱发细胞因子表达的原因之一。     

手深度烧伤早期切痂植皮和生长因子调控的临床应用研究

目的探索一种手深度烧伤后更多、更好地保存手功能的有效方法。方法对28例50只手深Ⅱ度以上烧伤的病例进行了早期的全手背部 (包括全手背至手指末节 )切痂 ,术中应用生长因子调控 ,术后早期 (术后第5d至第10d)进行手功能锻炼。结果28例50只手应用此方法后 ,除一例再植皮者手功能受影响外 ,其他病例手外形 ,手功能的恢复均较满意 ,总有效率在90 %以上。截指率明显下降。结论手深度烧伤后早期全手切痂 ,生长因子调控和早期手功能锻炼对手外形及手功能的恢复保存有很好的疗效。     

Physiological blushing in social anxiety disorder patients with and without blushing complaints: Two subtypes?

This study investigates whether social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients with blushing complaints show heightened physiological blushing and arousability in social situations than SAD patients without blushing complaints and healthy controls. SAD blushers (n = 32), SAD non-blushers (n = 34), and healthy controls (n = 25) conducted two social tasks. The physiological responses cheek and forehead blood flow, cheek temperature, and skin conductance were recorded, as well as confederates-observed blushing. The SAD blushers showed more physiological blushing (cheek temperature and blood flow) than SAD non-blushers and observers detected this difference. This finding was also present in comparison to the controls, except for blood flow. For blood flow SAD blushers and controls did not differ but SAD non-blushers showed a ‘suppressed response’: a smaller cheek blood flow increase during the interaction and no recovery compared to the other groups. Furthermore, on skin conductance no differences between groups were observed. Discussed is to what extent SAD blushers and SAD non-blushers represent two qualitative distinct subgroups of SAD.     

Acute and Chronic Effects of Aerobic and Resistance Exercise on Ambulatory Blood Pressure

Hypertension is a ubiquitous and serious disease. Regular exercise has been recommended as a strategy for the prevention and treatment of hypertension because of its effects in reducing clinical blood pressure; however, ambulatory blood pressure is a better predictor of target-organ damage than clinical blood pressure, and therefore studying the effects of exercise on ambulatory blood pressure is important as well. Moreover, different kinds of exercise might produce distinct effects that might differ between normotensive and hypertensive subjects.The aim of this study was to review the current literature on the acute and chronic effects of aerobic and resistance exercise on ambulatory blood pressure in normotensive and hypertensive subjects. It has been conclusively shown that a single episode of aerobic exercise reduces ambulatory blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Similarly, regular aerobic training also decreases ambulatory blood pressure in hypertensive individuals. In contrast, data on the effects of resistance exercise is both scarce and controversial. Nevertheless, studies suggest that resistance exercise might acutely decrease ambulatory blood pressure after exercise, and that this effect seems to be greater after low-intensity exercise and in patients receiving anti-hypertensive drugs. On the other hand, only two studies investigating resistance training in hypertensive patients have been conducted, and neither has demonstrated any hypotensive effect. Thus, based on current knowledge, aerobic training should be recommended to decrease ambulatory blood pressure in hypertensive individuals, while resistance exercise could be prescribed as a complementary strategy.