Isometric Exercise for Hypertension

Background: Isometric resistance exercises (IREs) have great potential to improve blood pressure (BP) control. Methods: This is a pilot randomized controlled trial that will involve 50 patients with hypertension (HT) who do not meet the current physical activity guidelines defined by the World Health Organization. Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio using stratified and blocked randomization to either the IRE (wall squat) group or stretching exercise (active control) group. A well-structured, widely accepted, and validated 24-week wall squat program (2 minutes per exercise, 2 minutes of rest between sets, and 3 sessions per week) will be implemented, as it has been commonly used in previous research. All patients will be followed up for 24 weeks. Control group will receive exact same treatment except that IRE is replaced by frequency-matched and time-matched stretching exercise. The primary outcome measure will be rate of recruitment. Secondary outcomes will include BP parameters from 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring