Key result
A single 60-minute session of active video game play significantly reduced systolic blood pressure by 14.4 mmHg in hypertensive middle-aged adults, comparable to moderate-intensity walking.
Why the study?
Does a 60-minute active video game session reduce post-exercise blood pressure in hypertensive middle-aged subjects?
RCT (n=15)
Open-label
Randomized crossover
No
Does a 60-minute active video game session reduce post-exercise blood pressure in hypertensive middle-aged subjects?
Mean Difference: -14.4
p-value: p=<0.0001
A single session of active video game play promotes post-exercise hypotension and reduces sympathetic inflow similarly to traditional moderate-intensity walking in hypertensive middle-aged adults.
Active video games may lower BP post-session in hypertension; leaves open equivalence to walking and needs larger trials.
Purpose To determine whether an active video game session promoted post-exercise hypotension, similar to walking. Methods Fifteen hypertensive subjects (49.0 ± 1.6 years) of both genders performed five randomized sessions, lasting 60 minutes: 1) active video game; 2) sedentary video game; 3) walking on a treadmill with moderate intensity; 4) walking on a treadmill with similar intensity to the active video game; and 5) control without exercise. Blood pressure and cardiac autonomic modulation measurements were taken at rest and every 10 minutes post exercise for 60 minutes. Results The active video game promoted a reduction in systolic blood pressure (-14.4 ± 3.0 mmHg, p < 0.0001) similar to walking on a treadmill with moderate intensity (-16.9 ± 3.3 mmHg, p < 0.0001), whereas the control group without exercise did not demonstrate a blood pressure reduction. The sedentary video game also demonstrated a reduction in systolic blood pressure (-10.0 ± 3.1 mmHg, p = 0.0039), statistically similar to the active video game and walking on a treadmill with similar intensity to the active video game (8.7 ± 2.9 mmHg, p = 0.0034). Regarding the diastolic component, the active video game (-7.6 ± 1.5 mmHg, p < 0.0001), walking on a treadmill with moderate intensity (-8.3 ± 2.9 mmHg, p = 0.0042), and the sedentary video game (-7.5 ± 2.7 mmHg, p = 0.0098) produced similar reductions in diastolic blood pressure. The active video game was a procedure that promoted a sympathetic-vagal balance reduction from pre-exercise to 60 minutes post exercise (4.2 ± 0.8 to 2.3 ± 0.5, p = 0.0486). Conclusions Active video game play promoted a similar reduction in blood pressure compared to traditional walking exercise with the advantage of promoting reduction in the sympathetic inflow to the heart.
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Silva et al. (2018) conducted an RCT in Hypertension (n=15). Active video game (AVG) session vs. Control without exercise and moderate-intensity walking was evaluated on Reduction in systolic blood pressure (MD -14.4 mmHg, p=<0.0001). A single 60-minute session of active video game play significantly reduced systolic blood pressure by 14.4 mmHg in hypertensive middle-aged adults, comparable to moderate-intensity walking.
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