Introduction
swelling, post-exercise hypotension, pain, synovial joints, Rheumatoid arthritis, RA, autoimmune inflammatory disease, physical incapacity
CVD, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, HYPERTENSION
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease affecting synovial joints and causing pain, swelling and progressive physical incapacity [Hypertension is a well-established risk factor for the development of CVD in RA [A single session of aerobic exercise has been shown to promote a transient reduction in BP below resting values, which is termed as post-exercise hypotension (PEH) [Despite compelling evidence showing the beneficial effects of exercise on BP control in different clinical populations, there is still scarce information on the acute effects of exercise on BP in RA. Specifically, it is unknown if patients with RA would experience PEH as previous studies have demonstrated altered cardiovascular responses to exercise and to other relevant physiological stimuli in this population [