Key result
Isometric exercise training reduces resting systolic blood pressure by ~9 mm Hg vs control.
Why the study?
Sex-specific differences in resting blood pressure reduction and associated cardiovascular adaptations following isometric exercise training were unclear.
Does isometric exercise training reduce resting blood pressure and improve cardiac autonomic adaptations differently between sexes in sedentary adults with normal to high-normal systolic blood pressure?
RCT (n=100)
Randomly allocated at a ratio of 4:1 within each batch using the RAND function on Microsoft Excel
Does isometric exercise training reduce resting blood pressure and improve cardiac autonomic adaptations differently between sexes in sedentary adults with normal to high-normal systolic blood pressure?
Absolute Event Rate: -9.45% vs -0.79%
p-value: p=<0.001
Isometric exercise training provides comparable, clinically meaningful blood pressure reductions in both sexes, but females demonstrate enhanced cardiac autonomic modulation that may yield greater cardioprotective benefits.
Supports isometric training for BP reduction in sedentary adults of both sexes; extends evidence with sex-specific autonomic gains in females.
Objectives: We aimed to explore sex-specific differences in resting blood pressure (BP) reduction and associated cardiovascular adaptations following isometric exercise training (IET). Methods: 100 sedentary adults with normal to high-normal systolic BP volunteered for the study. Participants either performed home-based lower-body IET in the form of a wall squat three times a week for 4 weeks (each session comprised 4×2 min bouts) or were allocated to the control group. Cardiovascular variables, including BP, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, stroke volume and heart rate variability (HRV), were measured at rest preintervention and postintervention. Results: Following 4 weeks of IET, there were no significant differences in resting systolic BP and diastolic BP between females (122.1±6.9 and 80.0±8.3 mm Hg) and males (119.6±7.2 and 77.4±8.6 mm Hg). However, female participants had a greater cardiac autonomic response following training, evidenced by a lower low-frequency to high-frequency HRV ratio (F: 1.38±1.27 and M: 2.1±1.5, p=0.004) and decreased and elevated low-frequency normalised units (F: 50.3%±16.2% and M: 60.9%±16.9%, p=0.015) and high-frequency normalised units (F: 49.7%±16.2% and M: 39.1%±16.9%, p=0.015), respectively. Conclusions: While resting BP reductions were comparable between female and male participants, there was a greater autonomic response and a higher incidence of clinically important BP reductions in females, which could indicate a greater cardioprotective effect following IET. These findings highlight the importance of considering sex differences in the prescription and evaluation of exercise interventions for hypertension management.
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Swift et al. (2025) conducted an RCT in Sedentary adults with normal to high-normal systolic blood pressure (n=100). Isometric exercise training (IET) vs. Control group (no exercise intervention) was evaluated on Resting systolic blood pressure reduction (p=<0.001). Isometric exercise training significantly reduced resting systolic blood pressure by 9.45 mm Hg compared to control, with comparable BP reductions between sexes but greater autonomic improvements in females.
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