How Wall Squat Exercise Affects Blood Pressure in People With High Blood Pressure and Treated Sleep Apnea (WALLPRESS) (WALLPRESS)

July 28, 2026 updated by: Fernando Ribeiro, Aveiro University

Acute Blood Pressure Responses to Isometric Wall Squat Exercise in Adults With Hypertension and CPAP-Treated Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Crossover Trial

This study will look at whether a simple exercise called the isometric wall squat can help lower blood pressure in adults who have both hypertension and obstructive sleep apnoea treated with CPAP. Obstructive sleep apnoea is a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops or becomes shallow during sleep, and it is closely linked to high blood pressure. Although CPAP helps treat sleep apnoea, it usually lowers blood pressure only a little, so additional non-drug strategies may be useful.

The study will compare two situations in the same participants: one session of wall squat exercise and one non-exercise control session. Each participant will take part in both sessions, but the order will be random. This design helps the researchers compare blood pressure changes more fairly within the same person.

Participants will first attend a familiarization session, where the study procedures will be explained and the exercise intensity will be checked. After that, they will complete the two study sessions at home, during their usual CPAP treatment visits. The sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours and completed within one week. Both sessions will be scheduled at the same time of day to reduce the effect of normal daily changes in blood pressure.

The main result the researchers will measure is the average systolic blood pressure during the 12 hours after each session, using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. This means blood pressure will be measured over time while the participant goes about normal daily activities. The researchers want to find out whether a single session of wall squat exercise produces a greater blood pressure reduction than simply resting without exercise.

This study may help improve understanding of whether isometric exercise can be a practical, low-cost, home-based option to support blood pressure control in people with hypertension and CPAP-treated obstructive sleep apnoea.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

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

  • Portugal
      • Braga, Portugal
        • Recruiting
        • Nippon Sanso Homecare
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Rafael Mariz, Bachelor

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:

  • 18-80 years old.
  • Diagnosis of hypertension and OSA confirmed by polysomnography or respiratory sleep study.
  • Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) of at least 15 events per hour.
  • Treatment with CPAP for at least 3 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Mean CPAP adherence <4 hours/night over the last month, documented by device download.
  • Heart failure.
  • Peripheral artery disease.
  • Atrial fibrillation.
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
  • Chronic kidney disease.
  • History of acute coronary syndrome, stroke, or transient ischemic attack in the previous 12 months.
  • Relevant changes in antihypertensive or other cardiovascular pharmacotherapy in the previous 3 months.
  • Relevant changes in CPAP prescription in the previous 3 months.
  • Any contraindication to exercise according to contemporary ESC/ACSM recommendations (e.g. unstable angina).
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
  • Neurological and/or orthopaedic conditions that could interfere with exercise (e.g. severe knee osteoarthritis, recent lower-limb surgery).
  • Inability to read, understand, or provide informed consent.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Isometric Wall Squat
Isometric Wall Squat exercise session plus standard drug therapy
Other: Isometric Wall Squat
4x2-min isometric wall squat contractions separated by 2-min rest periods plus standard drug therapy
Other Names:
  • wall squat
No Intervention: Control
non-exercise control session plus standard drug therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
12-hour systolic blood pressure
Time Frame: During the 12 hours following the exercise or control session
Systolic blood pressure measured by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring every 30 minutes for 12 hours after the exercise or control session
During the 12 hours following the exercise or control session

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
12-hour diastolic blood pressure
Time Frame: During the 12 hours following the exercise or control session
Diastolic blood pressure measured by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring every 30 minutes for 12 hours after the exercise or control session
During the 12 hours following the exercise or control session
Short-term blood pressure variability
Time Frame: During the 12 hours following the exercise or control session
Standard deviation of ambulatory readings over 12 hours post-session
During the 12 hours following the exercise or control session
Pulse pressure
Time Frame: During the 12 hours following the exercise or control session
Mean difference between systolic and diastolic ambulatory blood pressure during the 12 hours after the exercise or control session
During the 12 hours following the exercise or control session

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adverse events associated with the isometric wall squat exercise session.
Time Frame: From during the session to 72 hours after the exercise session
Number and type of adverse events (e.g., skin irritation, limb discomfort, cramps, delayed onset muscle soreness) occurring during and/or after the isometric exercise session, classified by severity (mild, moderate, severe), relationship to the intervention (unrelated to definitely related), and type of event
From during the session to 72 hours after the exercise session

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Aveiro University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Fernando Ribeiro, PhD, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugual
  • Principal Investigator: Eduardo C Costa, PhD, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

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 (Estimated)

July 30, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

November 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 23, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 23, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 28, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 28, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 153-CEIC-UA/2026-M

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data that underlie the results reported in the publication will be shared upon reasonable request after study completion.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Available after publication of the primary results and ending 5 years thereafter.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

De-identified individual participant data and supporting documents will be available to qualified researchers upon reasonable request for scientifically valid purposes. Requests will be reviewed and approved by the study team, and access will be granted after agreement on data use, ethical compliance, and confidentiality protections. Data will be shared in de-identified form only, via secure transfer or a controlled-access repository.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

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.

Subscribe