SBP recovery after exercise should return to pre-exercise levels or be lower after how many minutes?

• A. 2 minutes
• B. 4 minutes
• C. 8 minutes
• D. 6 minutes

Answer: (D)

Recovery of systolic blood pressure after exercise is a measure of how quickly the cardiovascular system returns to resting balance, driven by the autonomic nervous system switching from sympathetic to parasympathetic activity. After you stop exercising, SBP should come back to pre-exercise levels or even drop a bit within about six minutes in healthy individuals. This reflects efficient autonomic recovery and vascular regulation. If it takes longer than six minutes, it can indicate slower autonomic recovery or reduced fitness; shorter times like two or four minutes are not the typical standard, and eight minutes would be slower than expected.