Heart rate and blood pressure behavior throughout pregnancy, with training in water medium*

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the behavior of heart rate (HR) throughout gestation, before, during, and after the exercise in water, as well as the behavior of blood pressure (BP) before and after the same exercise. Methods: The sample was composed of seven pregnant women. The HR was measured in three moments: 1) in radial artery, in 15 seconds, with the women sitting; 2) after 20 to 30 minutes the beginning of exercise, which was performed varying from 13 to 14 based on the subject’s perceived exertion (Borg’s 6-20 scale), with women standing in a pool, with water at the level of their xiphoid process; 3) approximately 20 minutes after the end of the session, with women sitting. The measurement of BP was performed before and after exercise in the same conditions described above. Measurements were taken once a week throughout the gestational period. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA for repeated measures and the Bonferroni test were used, with p < 0.05 (SPSS version 11.0). Results: No statistically significant differences were found between the end of gestational trimesters and measurement conditions of variables evaluated. Conclusion: We conclude that pregnants that practice water exercises presented a constant behavior of HR and BP during the gestational period. That can probably evidence a water training effect in this population.