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Evidence for the role of isometric exercise training in reducing blood pressure: Potential mechanisms and future directions

Evidence for the role of isometric exercise training in reducing blood pressure: Potential mechanisms and future directions

Millar, PhiliP J., McGowan, Cheri L., Cornelissen, Véronique A., Araujo, Claudio G. and Swaine, Ian L. ORCID: 0000-0002-3747-1370 (2014) Evidence for the role of isometric exercise training in reducing blood pressure: Potential mechanisms and future directions. Sports Medicine, 44 (3). pp. 345-356. ISSN 0112-1642 (Print), 1179-2035 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-013-0118-x)

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Abstract

Hypertension, or the chronic elevation in resting arterial blood pressure (BP), is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and estimated to affect ~1 billion adults worldwide. The goals of treatment are to lower BP through lifestyle modifications (smoking cessation, weight loss, exercise training, healthy eating and reduced sodium intake), and if not solely effective, the addition of antihypertensive medications. In particular, increased physical exercise and decreased sedentarism are important strategies in the prevention and management of hypertension. Current guidelines recommend both aerobic and dynamic resistance exercise training modalities to reduce BP. Mounting prospective evidence suggests that isometric exercise training in normotensive and hypertensive (medicated and non-medicated) cohorts of young and old participants may produce similar, if not greater, reductions in BP, with meta-analyses reporting mean reductions of between 10 and 13 mmHg systolic, and 6 and 8 mmHg diastolic. Isometric exercise training protocols typically consist of four sets of 2-min handgrip or leg contractions sustained at 20–50 % of maximal voluntary contraction, with each set separated by a rest period of 1–4 min. Training is usually completed three to five times per week for 4–10 weeks. Although the mechanisms responsible for these adaptations remain to be fully clarified, improvements in conduit and resistance vessel endothelium-dependent dilation, oxidative stress, and autonomic regulation of heart rate and BP have been reported. The clinical significance of isometric exercise training, as a time-efficient and effective training modality to reduce BP, warrants further study. This evidence-based review aims to summarize the current state of knowledge regarding the effects of isometric exercise training on resting BP.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: adaptation, blood pressure, exercise, human, hypertension, methodology, muscle contraction, physiology, practice guideline, review, skeletal muscle, time
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure
Q Science > QP Physiology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Engineering & Science
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Exercise Activity and Rehabilitation
Related URLs:
Last Modified: 22 Nov 2021 11:49
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/13667

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