The Effects of Hot Yoga on Vascular Function

The Effects of Bikram (Hot) Yoga on Vascular Health in Hypertensive Adults

This study will examine the effects of a 12 week hot yoga intervention on vascular health in adults between the ages of 20 and 65. The investigators are seeking individuals with slightly elevated blood pressure and stage I hypertension who are not currently taking blood pressure medications or exercising regularly. Participants will receive 12 weeks of free yoga for their participation.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hypertension; Elevated Blood Pressure
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Hot Yoga

Detailed Description

This study will examine the effects of a 12 week hot yoga intervention on vascular health by assessing changes of pre-intervention and post-intervention measurements in ambulatory blood pressure, endothelial function, and arterial stiffness in adults between the ages of 20 and 65. The investigators are seeking individuals with elevated blood pressure and stage I hypertension who are not currently taking blood pressure medications or exercising regularly. Participants will receive 12 weeks of free yoga for their participation.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • San Marcos, Texas, United States, 78666
      • Texas State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 61 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Elevated blood pressure or stage I hypertension;
• sedentary (not currently exercising regularly);
• not currently taking blood pressure medications.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnancy;
• renal disease;
• prior heart attack;
• known coronary artery disease;
• history of stroke,
• heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD);
• recent chest pain;
• heat intolerance;
• body mass index of 40 or more.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 90-minute Hot Yoga Classes; This group will complete 3, 90-minute hot yoga classes weekly for 12 weeks.	Behavioral: Hot Yoga; Bikram or hot yoga is a standardized series of 26 postures with two breathing exercises. Classes will be performed at local yoga studios in Austin, Texas and participants will be required to sign in for each session. All participants will receive 12 weeks of free classes for their participation.
Experimental: 60-minute Hot Yoga Classes; This group will complete 3, 60-minute hot yoga classes weekly for 12 weeks.	Behavioral: Hot Yoga; Bikram or hot yoga is a standardized series of 26 postures with two breathing exercises. Classes will be performed at local yoga studios in Austin, Texas and participants will be required to sign in for each session. All participants will receive 12 weeks of free classes for their participation.
No Intervention: Control; This group will maintain their current physical activity for 12 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Averages in ambulatory blood pressure and vascular function	Blood pressure monitoring using an arm cuff for one full day before and after the intervention	24 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perceived stress	"Perceived Stress Scale" questionnaire will be filled out by participant before and after the intervention in order to asses current perception of stress of daily living. 10 total questions, scaled from 0 to 4, 4 being the most often a participant felt stress and carries a weight of 5 and 0 holds a weight of 1. Question 4, 5, 7, and 8 have reversed values where 0 is the most heavily weighted and 4 is the least. The total is added up upon completion of each test and can be compared to before and after values.	5 minutes
Brachial artery endothelial function	Ultrasound imaging of the upper arm before and after 5 minutes of lower arm cuff inflation (this cuff similar to a blood pressure cuff but smaller) before and after the intervention. Arterial diameter images will be analyzed for baseline and post-cuff release diameters and flow-mediated dilation will be quantified as the percentage change in arterial diameter from baseline.	15 minutes
Arterial Stiffness	Tonometry readings of the carotid and femoral artery pulses assessing pulse wave velocity before and after the intervention. Pulse wave velocity will be determined by dividing the distance traveled in millimeters by the time delay between the initiations of the carotid and femoral pulse waveforms in seconds.	10 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Texas State University
• Investigators: Study Chair: Monica Gonzales, Texas State University IRB

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 17, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 6, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 19, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): June 20, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 27, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 25, 2022
• Last Verified: March 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Hypertension
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2018381

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No