Hypertension
Conditions
Brief summary
Background: Isometric resistance exercises (IREs) have great potential to improve blood pressure (BP) control. Methods: This is a pilot randomized controlled trial that will involve 50 patients with hypertension (HT) who do not meet the current physical activity guidelines defined by the World Health Organization. Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio using stratified and blocked randomization to either the IRE (wall squat) group or stretching exercise (active control) group. A well-structured, widely accepted, and validated 24-week wall squat program (2 minutes per exercise, 2 minutes of rest between sets, and 3 sessions per week) will be implemented, as it has been commonly used in previous research. All patients will be followed up for 24 weeks. Control group will receive exact same treatment except that IRE is replaced by frequency-matched and time-matched stretching exercise. The primary outcome measure will be rate of recruitment. Secondary outcomes will include BP parameters from 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring
Interventions
BEHAVIORALwall squat
self-learnt wall squat exercise to be conducted for totally 24 weeks
BEHAVIORALpassive stretching
time-matched passive stretching exercise to be conducted for totally 24 weeks
Sponsors
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* a suboptimal daytime SBP of \>135-160 mmHg on a 24-h ABPM * reported no regular physical activity or less than that recommended for adults by the World Health Organization (e.g. \<150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week); * on stable doses of anti-HT medication(s) for ≥4 weeks if the patient is receiving drug treatments * agree for no drug changes during the intervention period (24 weeks);
Exclusion criteria
* cannot provide informed consent * unwillingness to repeat ABPM * relative contraindications to ABPM (i.e. diagnosed atrial fibrillation, nighttime workers, occupational drivers, or patients with bleeding tendencies) * severe osteoarthritis pending knee replacement surgery * known secondary HT * use of ≥3 anti-HT medications at maximum doses or ≥4 anti-HT medications * SBP or DBP are \>160 mmHg or \>100 mmHg, respectively, on ABPM * pregnancy/breastfeeding * active malignancy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| rate of recruitment | through study completion, an average of 1 year | number of people recruited per month |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure parameters | 24-week after recruitment | 24-hour, daytime and nighttime blood pressure from 24-hour ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurement |
| Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity | 24-week after recruitment | analysed by applanation tonometry using SphygmoCor (AtCor Medical Pty Ltd) with the accompanying SphygmoCor Software Suite (SphygmoCor System) |
| flow-mediated velocity (FMD) | 24-week after recruitment | FMD will be performed using a high-resolution linear artery transducer couple with a software (FMD suite, Quipu, Italy) that automatically detect and measure the brachial artery diameter and will be performed according to international guidelines |
Countries
Hong Kong
Outcome results
None listed