Differential Effects of Aerobic and Whole-Body Vibration Exercises on Cardiovascular Markers in Young Adults

Cardiovascular diseases remain a global health challenge, with physical inactivity being a key contributing factor. This study investigated the acute effects of two exercise modalities, traditional aerobic exercise and whole-body vibration (WBV) exercise, on cardiovascular variables in young adults. The study adopted a randomised controlled trial with 20 apparently healthy participants who were assigned to either an aerobic exercise group, which performed a 30-minute session on a bicycle ergometer, or a WBV group, which engaged in a 30-minute session on a horizontal vibrating platform with dynamic and static exercises. Pretest and posttest measurements were taken for systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), and heart rate variability (HRV). Aerobic exercise increased SBP from 112.3 ± 9.4 to 132.4 ± 11.2 mmHg (Δ 20.1 ± 14.6 mmHg, p = 0.013), while DBP rose from 71.8 ± 7.2 to 79.5 ± 8.1 mmHg (Δ 7.7 ± 5.3 mmHg, p = 0.027). Both changes are within the safe, expected acute response (< 30 mmHg for SBP and < 10 mmHg for DBP) for healthy young adults. In the WBV group, systolic blood pressure changed by −1.43 ± 7.18 mmHg (p = 0.470) and diastolic blood pressure by −0.93 ± 8.94 mmHg (p = 0.704), indicating negligible acute effects on blood pressure. In contrast, heart rate increased by 8.60 ± 1.81 bpm (p = 0.011), and heart rate variability rose by 5.69 ± 0.91 ms (p = 0.035). Both the heart rate and HRV changes fall within the safe, expected acute response range for healthy young adults (< 10 bpm for HR and < 10 ms for HRV). Between-group analyses revealed statistically significant differences in heart rate and heart rate variability responses, suggesting that aerobic exercise has more pronounced acute cardiovascular effects compared to WBV exercise. These findings support the incorporation of aerobic exercise into routine physical activity programs for more effective cardiovascular modulation while suggesting that WBV exercise may serve as a complementary modality with minimal cardiovascular strain.