Assessment of Physical Exercise Using Stationary Bicycle for Pregnant Women With Risk for Preeclampsia Development

Introduction: Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy are an important issue in global public health. It is current the leading cause of maternal mortality in Brazil. Objective: To assess the effect of physical exercise using stationary bicycle through blood pressure and heart rate measurements, incidence of pre-eclampsia and quality of life survey in pregnant women with chronic high blood pressure, previous preeclampsia pregnancies or both factors associated comparing to a group with no intervention. Verify the type of births, maternal and perinatal outcomes in both groups. Methodology: This randomized clinical trial enrolled pregnant women presenting chronic hih blood pressure, previous pre-eclampsia experience or both. Women from 12 to 20 gestational weeks were selected from the prenatal outpatient clinic and randomly allocated to the study or non-interventional group. Women at the study group performed physical exercise using stationary bicycle (horizontal bench model) during 20 minutes, once a week. The heart rate was maintained at 20% above resting heart rate and up to 140 bpm. Blood pressure and heart rate measurements were evaluated before and after exercise. The non-intervention group followed regular prenatal routine with weekly returns for heart rate and blood pressure measurements. Both groups fulfilled the quality of life survey (SF-36 questionnaire) at three times: between 12 and 20 weeks; 28 and 32 weeks and 36 and 41 weeks of gestation. After that data of parturition will be analyzed to compare the incidence of pre-eclampsia, types of birth, maternal and perinatal outcomes.