Heat & Aerobic Training (HEAT) Study

This study is intended for inactive, middle-aged adults with untreated pre-hypertension who live in the Urbana-Champaign area, who are interested in a comprehensive program designed to enhance physical activity \& reduce blood pressure. All participants will be asked to engage in a program developed in accordance with American Heart Association's recommendations. Specifically, the program will encourage and support lifestyle behavior changes such as quitting smoking, eating heart-healthy food, and reducing excessive alcohol, in addition to weekly exercise. The exercise program will involve a 14-week aerobic training program (3 weekly sessions, scheduled at study participants' convenience), and 2 pre- and 2-post-testing sessions.

Exercise has been associated with enhanced cognitive functioning. Several physiological mechanisms of change have been proposed, including increased blood-flow, vascular functioning, and neurological changes. Similar outcomes are also associated with partial-body and full-body heat therapy (e.g. steam-room or dry-sauna). The purpose of this study is to compare full-body HEAT treatments combined with exercise in a 14-week program to an exercise-only condition. The exercise program will involve moderate-intensity aerobic exercise training. All participants will also be asked to adhere to the American Heart Association's guidelines for reducing and controlling blood pressure, including increasing physical activity (at least 50 minutes, 3 times/week as part of our supervised training sessions), stopping smoking altogether, eating healthier (limiting sodium, eating fruit, veggies, low-fat dairy and lean protein, and reducing saturated fat and total fat), drinking less alcohol (1-2 drinks a day max) and achieving and maintaining a healthy bodyweight (striving for a body mass index between 18 and 25). It is hypothesized that heat treatments combined with exercise will enhance the body's adaptive responses to exercise which in turn, should reduce blood pressure \& blood flow, and improve cognitive functioning and related psychosocial outcomes (including anxiety and mindfulness). A two-armed (parallel groups design) randomized controlled trial involving heat and aerobic training (HEAT) will be compared with an exercise only (ExOnly) control condition. Therefore, the HEAT groups will receive 42 exercise classes each followed by a heat treatment involving 11-20 minutes of steam-room therapy. Post-exercise time will be matched in the control condition by having participants sit in the lobby after each session. The exercise interventions and assessments will be conducted by trained exercise staff. The participants will be assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Additionally, brief assessments will be administered at each session (pre and post) and logs will be administered to participants on a weekly basis. Assessments will include (a) physical activity \& biometric monitoring, (b) performance on neurocognitive tests, (c) endothelial function, (d) a battery of psychosocial questionnaires, and (e) functional performance measures.