BACKGROUND: Exercise is recommended as an effective lifestyle behaviour for adults to prevent and treat hypertension. In this study, a randomized-effect meta-analysis was used to analyse the influence of exercise interventions on blood pressure in patients with hypertension. METHODS: Candidate papers were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library electronic databases, and 46 studies were finally included and analysed. RESULTS: It was shown that preplanned walking (systolic blood pressure (SBP) WMD (weighted mean difference) -5.94, 95% CI -8.57 to -3.30; diastolic blood pressure (DBP) WMD -2.66, 95% CI -3.66 to -1.67), yoga (SBP WMD -5.09, 95% CI -9.28 to -0.89; DBP WMD -3.06, 95% CI -5.16 to -0.96), aquatic sports (SBP WMD -7.53, 95% CI -11.40 to -3.65; DBP WMD -5.35, 95% CI -9.00 to -1.69), and football (SBP WMD -6.06, 95% CI -9.30 to -2.82; DBP WMD -5.55, 95% CI -8.98 to -2.13) had significant effects on blood pressure reduction. However, Tai Chi (SBP WMD -8.31, 95% CI -20.39 to 3.77; DBP WMD -3.05, 95% CI -6.96 to 0.87) and Qigong (SBP WMD -4.34, 95% CI -13.5 to 4.82; DBP WMD -3.44, 95% CI -7.89 to 1.01) did not significantly reduce blood pressure. The heterogeneity of the meta-analysis was high. CONCLUSION: Walking, yoga, aquatic sports, and football were feasible and independent lifestyle interventions, and they were effective options for treating hypertension. More scientifically designed randomized controlled trials are needed in the future to further compare different forms of exercise for the treatment of hypertension.

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