Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from hypertension, a condition associated with increased risk for stroke, heart attack, and kidney failure. While non-pharmacological intervention has resulted in dramatic reductions in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure for those with elevated pressures, a debate continues over the efficacy of pharmacological intervention because of deleterious side effects. As a result, there has been an increased interest in aerobic exercise as a non-pharmacologic approach in treating hypertension. Recent reviews of literature have synthesized research using the 'traditional' approach (chronologically arranging and describing the studies, perhaps by sub-topic) which may result in subjective, non-replicable conclusions. Consequently, the relationships among such variables as subject characteristics, experimental design quality, training program characteristics, and how they contribute to changes in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure is not clear.