Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Mar;44(3):345-56.
doi: 10.1007/s40279-013-0118-x.

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

Affiliations
Review

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

Philip J Millar et al. Sports Med. 2014 Mar.

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Int J Vasc Med. 2012;2012:964697 - PubMed
    1. J Am Heart Assoc. 2013 Feb 01;2(1):e004473 - PubMed
    1. Angiology. 1978 May;29(5):379-85 - PubMed
    1. Clin Auton Res. 2010 Aug;20(4):241-7 - PubMed
    1. Circulation. 2006 Jun 6;113(22):2642-50 - PubMed

Publication types