Physical exercise in hypertensives as a cost control tool in public health

Arterial hypertension is a public health issue of great importance because it reduces life expectancy and leads to several complications, generating high financial and social costs. The adherence to treatment is the basis for controlling and decreasing chronic disease morbimortality. However, the degree of worldwide adherence in chronic treatments lies between 50% and 75%, hence the importance of devising a way of using physical exercise as a tool for disease prevention and control. Hypertension control programs still face challenges, especially with regarding to patient adherence, with consequent uncontrolled blood pressure rates and high morbimortality. This study is expected to contribute to the improvement of the information collected on the admission of patients to such programs and the selection of those who need systematic, individualized monitoring, thus reducing the exponential costs in the annual budget for public health. Study Design: The design utilized original articles, society journals, federal government guidelines, books and data collected via internet access in order to make a bibliographical review. Clinical Relevance Statment: The study shows the cost that hypertension brings to the Brazilian public health sectors and how much savings can be made when a simple action is implemented, that is, the stimulation of physical activity.