Feasibility and Acceptability of Isometric Exercise and Lifestyle Change for the Management of Hypertension

February 5, 2026 updated by: Northumbria University

Feasibility and Acceptability of Remote Home-Based Isometric Exercise and Lifestyle Change for the Management of Hypertension

High blood pressure (hypertension) is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and may contribute to poor health and premature death. The purpose of this research is to learn if a home-based isometric exercise programme combined with lifestyle change advice is a practical and acceptable method for people diagnosed with hypertension to manage their condition. Isometric exercise involves a muscle contraction without movement of the limbs and previous research has shown this may be effective for reducing blood pressure. Therefore, this study will explore the experiences, thoughts, attitudes, and barriers to participation. It will also examine the effect the isometric exercise has on blood pressure.

Participants will undertake an isometric exercise programme using a wall squat position, 3 times per week, for 12 weeks. The exercise sessions will be completed at home with remote online supervision by an exercise professional. Lifestyle change advice will given in line with current guidelines to promote healthy behaviours to reduce high blood pressure. After 12 weeks, participants will be encouraged to continue with the wall squat exercise for a further 12-weeks unsupervised. Throughout the study, participants' blood pressure and daily activity will be recorded using a smartwatch device.

Upon completion of the intervention period, participants will be interviewed to gather their views and opinions on the isometric exercise programme. Changes in blood pressure will be evaluated at 12 and 24 weeks.

By exploring whether an isometric exercise programme is a feasible and acceptable method for hypertensive people to manage their condition and how this influences blood pressure, this research may aid in the development of a strategy to manage hypertension.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

70

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
      • Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, NE1 8ST
        • Recruiting
        • Northumbria University
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Helen Llewellyn, MSc

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of Arterial Hypertension (AH) in accordance with NICE guidelines.
  • Under pharmacological treatment for AH with antihypertensive drug, type and dose maintained for the previous four months.
  • Blood Pressure with values <180 and <110 mmHg for office systolic and diastolic BP, respectively.
  • Not currently engaged in any structured or supervised exercise training programme, including resistance, aerobic, or isometric exercise, defined as planned exercise performed ≥2 times per week at moderate or greater intensity, for at least three months prior to enrolment.
  • Written informed consent provided.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Body mass index >35 kg/m2.
  • Presence of cardiovascular disease beyond hypertension.
  • Known orthopaedic, musculoskeletal, or neurological conditions that restrain isometric exercise execution.
  • Presence of secondary hypertension
  • Inability to follow verbal instructions or complete study protocol

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Home Based Isometric Exercise and Lifestyle Change Group
Participants randomised to this group will undertake a remotely supervised 12-week home-based isometric exercise training intervention 3 times per week. The bilateral leg isometric exercise consists of 5-stage wall squat position determined by individual calculations at baseline. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) will be monitored throughout the intervention and used to guide the squat stage position. Lifestyle change advice will be given in accordance with NICE guidelines for hypertension. Participants will receive a smartwatch (Huawei D2) to monitor their daily physical activity (step count) and record their home blood pressure.
Behavioral: Isometric Exercise and Lifestyle Change Advice

The intervention consists of two distinct phases:

• Intensive Phase (12 weeks) - a structured, high-support period involving three weekly supervised isometric exercise sessions and lifestyle change advice. The supervised exercise programme will consist of 4 × 2-minute bouts of wall squat exercise, with 2-minute rest periods between bouts. Participant squat height position will be based on individual calculations determined at baseline. Target rate of perceived exertion (RPE) for each bout will be:

  • Bout 1: RPE 4 (target range: 3.5-4.5)
  • Bout 2: RPE 5.5 (target range: 5-6)
  • Bout 3: RPE 7 (target range: 6.5-7.5)
  • Bout 4: RPE 8.5 (target range: 8-9) If the RPE falls outside the target zone for a given bout, participants will adjust their squat height accordingly.

Lifestyle change advice will be given in booklet form in accordance with current NICE guidelines for hypertension.

• Maintenance Phase (12-24 weeks) - focus on sustaining exercise and lifestyle behaviour changes

Other Names:
  • Static Strength Training
  • Behaviour Change
Active Comparator: Lifestyle Change Control Group
Participants randomised to this group will not receive any intervention other than lifestyle change advice in accordance with NICE guidelines for hypertension. Participants will receive a smartwatch (Huawei D2) to monitor their daily physical activity (step count) and record their home blood pressure.
Behavioral: Lifestyle Change Advice
Lifestyle change advice given as per current standard care for hypertension
Other Names:
  • Behavioural Change

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of Intervention
Time Frame: Baseline to 24 weeks
Feasibility will be determined by the rate of screening, eligibility, recruitment, and retention at 12 and 24 weeks.
Baseline to 24 weeks
Feasibility of Intervention
Time Frame: Baseline to 24 weeks
Feasibility will be determined by adherence to the intervention (number of sessions attended and completed)
Baseline to 24 weeks
Acceptability of Intervention
Time Frame: Post 24 weeks
Participant acceptability will be determined through a qualitative process evaluation involving semi-structured interviews. The interviews will identify action mechanisms, examine experiences, barriers, facilitators, and behaviour change strategies, with a diverse sample to reflect varied demographics. Participants will be asked about their experience of participating in the study, thoughts, and attitudes towards the intervention.
Post 24 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Office and Ambulatory Blood Pressure
Time Frame: Baseline to 24 weeks.
Blood pressure will be measured in mmHg via office and ambulatory methods. Office BP will be taken in a seated position in accordance with resting BP protocols. Ambulatory BP monitoring will be performed with a non-invasive oscillometric device placed on the nondominant arm and programmed to perform measurements every 15 minutes for 24 hours. The secondary outcome is the change in mmHg for systolic and diastolic blood pressure from baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks.
Baseline to 24 weeks.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Northumbria University

Collaborators

HealthWorks Newcastle Upon Tyne

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Gabriel Cucato, PhD, Northumbria University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 2, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 4, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 1, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

October 9, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 5, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 10198 (DAIDS ES Registry Number)

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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