Isometric Resistance Exercise for Hypertension

Effectiveness and Mechanisms of Isometric Resistance Exercise to Reduce Blood Pressure in a Chinese Population: a Randomized-controlled Trial

Background: Isometric resistance exercises (IREs) have great potential to improve blood pressure (BP) control. However, the effectiveness of IREs in reducing HT is still unknown because their hypotensive effects have not been detected using ambulatory BP measurements (ABPM), which are the current standard for BP measurement.

Methods: This first adequately-powered RCT will involve 390 patients with 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. Adherence to the program will be monitored using smartwatches, and regular contact with patients through social media will help ensure adherence. All patients will be followed up for 1 year to investigate the long-term effects of IREs on BP. 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 systolic daytime ABPM BP at 24 weeks. Secondary outcome measures will include other BP and ABPM parameters at 12 weeks, 24weeks and 1year, cfPWV at baseline, 24 weeks and 1year, and FMD at baseline and 24weeks. Safety data will be collected and reported.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Hypertension
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: isometric wall exercise; Behavioral: passive stretching

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 390
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Eric Kam-Pui Lee, MSc, FRACGP; Phone Number: 22528462; Email: lkp032@cuhk.edu.hk

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Recruiting
    • School of public health and primary care
    • Contact: kam pui Lee, Msc; Phone Number: 85260996560; Email: lkp032@cuhk.edu.hk
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 00000
    • Recruiting
    • Lek Yuen General Outpatient Clinic
    • Contact: Eric Kam-Pui Prof Lee; Phone Number: 22528462; Email: lkp032@cuhk.edu.hk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

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 at baseline or at 12 weeks follow-up to ensure safety
• pregnancy/breastfeeding
• active malignancy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Isometric exercise; 2 minutes wall squat, with 2 minutes rest between sets; to perform 4 sets in total/day; at least 3 days/week; totally for 24-weeks	Behavioral: isometric wall exercise; Each exercise session will contain 4 sets of 2-minute wall squat isometric holds with 2 minutes of rest between each set (approximately 14 minutes per session in total), and a total of 3 sessions will be arranged every week (with ideally 48 h between exercises)
Active Comparator: passive stretching; 14 minutes passive stretching; at least 3 days/week; totally 24-weeks	Behavioral: passive stretching; A frequency-matched (3x/week) and time-matched (~14 minutes each session) passive static stretching exercise will be used

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
daytime systolic blood pressure (BP) assessed via ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM)	systolic blood pressure (SBP) measured from a 24-h ABPM	24-week after recruitment (immediate post-intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Other blood pressure indices	other BP indices from ABPM (i.e. daytime diastolic BP [DBP] at 24-week, daytime SBP/DBP at 1 year, and 24-hour and nighttime SBP and DBP at 24-week and 1 year)	24-week, 1 year
Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity	This will be analysed by applanation tonometry using SphygmoCor (AtCor Medical Pty Ltd) with the accompanying SphygmoCor Software Suite (SphygmoCor System	24-week after recruitment (immediate post-intervention), 1 year
flow-mediated dilation of brachial artery (FMD)	The longitudinal image of brachial artery is obtained 5-10cm above the elbow using a high frequency linear array vascular transducer XL14 (Philips Medical Systems, Bothell, WA, USA). After a qualified image is acquired for analysis, a pressure cuff placed distal to the imaging probe at the forearm will be inflated to 50mmHg above the systolic pressure for 5 minutes. The longitudinal image of the brachial artery is scan continuous for 3 minutes after the deflation of the cuff. Due to budget limitations, only the first 100 (50 intervention and 50 control) patients with receive FMD	24-week after recruitment (immediate post-intervention), 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 28, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 28, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 15, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 15, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): July 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 29, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 22, 2025
• Last Verified: February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Hypertension; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Patient Care; Exercise Therapy; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Exercise; Muscle Stretching Exercises
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2022.618

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No