Key result
Low-load BFR-RT improves blood pressure and lipid profile compared with standard resistance training alone.
Why the study?
Low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction is a potentially feasible intervention in primary care, and its effects on cardiometabolic and functional outcomes in hypertensive and dyslipidemic older adults needed evaluation.
Does low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction improve blood pressure, lipid profile, and physical function compared with low-load resistance training alone in hypertensive and dyslipidemic older adults?
RCT (n=26)
Randomized
No
Does low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction improve blood pressure, lipid profile, and physical function compared with low-load resistance training alone in hypertensive and dyslipidemic older adults?
Low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction is a safe, feasible primary care exercise intervention that may improve blood pressure, LDL-C, HDL-C, and estimated ASCVD risk more than low-load resistance training alone in older adults with hypertension and dyslipidemia.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Supports BFR-RT as feasible primary-care option for older hypertensives; extends low-load RT evidence to BP and lipid outcomes.
Hypertension and dyslipidemia are major modifiable cardiovascular risk factors among older adults and are highly prevalent in Indonesia. Low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction (BFR-RT) permits low external loads while eliciting favorable metabolic and functional adaptations, making it a potentially feasible alternative in primary care. To evaluate the effects of low-load BFR-RT on co-primary cardiometabolic outcomes (blood pressure and lipid profile) and secondary functional outcomes in older adults attending a community-based primary health care clinic. In this randomized controlled trial, 26 older adults were assigned to either a BFR-RT group or a control group performing the same low-load resistance exercises without blood flow restriction. Training was conducted twice weekly for 12 weeks. Blood flow restriction was applied using pneumatic cuffs set at 40% of individually determined arterial occlusion pressure. Co-primary outcomes included blood pressure and fasting lipid profile. Secondary outcomes were handgrip strength, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score, and estimated 10-year ASCVD risk. After 12 weeks, participants in the BFR-RT group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol compared with the control group. Between-group differences in total cholesterol and triglycerides were not statistically significant. Improvements in estimated ASCVD risk were also observed in the BFR-RT group, reflecting favorable changes in its component risk factors. Adherence exceeded 80% in both groups, with no serious adverse events. In this small trial, low-load BFR-RT was associated with greater improvements in several cardiometabolic and functional outcomes than resistance training alone in older adults in primary care. Given the limited sample size, these preliminary findings should be confirmed in larger, adequately powered trials.
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Andarini et al. (2026) conducted an RCT in Hypertension and dyslipidemia in older adults (n=26). Low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction (BFR-RT) vs. Same low-load resistance exercises without blood flow restriction was evaluated on Co-primary outcomes: blood pressure and fasting lipid profile. Low-load BFR-RT twice weekly for 12 weeks improved blood pressure, LDL-C, and HDL-C compared with resistance training alone in 26 older adults.
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