Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 May 20;11(1):100.
doi: 10.1186/s13643-022-01974-9.

Effect of isometric exercise on blood pressure in prehypertensive and hypertensive individuals: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Patrícia Caetano de Oliveira  1 , Alexandre M Lehnen  2 , Gustavo Waclawovsky  1
Affiliations

Effect of isometric exercise on blood pressure in prehypertensive and hypertensive individuals: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Patrícia Caetano de Oliveira et al. Syst Rev. .

Abstract

Background: Systemic arterial hypertension (HTN) is the leading risk factor of cardiovascular disease death. Lifestyle changes are key for the prevention and management of HTN. Regular aerobic exercise training is recommended as part of the management of HTN, and dynamic resistance exercise should be prescribed as an adjuvant to aerobic training. Recent evidence points to the potential benefits of isometric resistance training in reducing blood pressure (BP). Yet, the hypotensive effect of isometric exercise in prehypertensive and hypertensive individuals is not fully understood. Thus, we will examine the effect of isometric exercise in prehypertensive and hypertensive individuals through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Our systematic review study will include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) selected from the electronic databases MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane, LILACS, EMBASE, Web of Science, and PEDro published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese languages. We will follow the PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols) and PICOS framework. Our search will involve studies with both male and female participants aged 18 years or more diagnosed with prehypertension or HTN performing one session of isometric exercise (acute effect) or isometric exercise training (chronic effect) compared to a control group (no exercise). We will use the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) tool to evaluate the quality of the studies and RStudio software (v1.3.959 for Windows) for statistical analyses.

Discussion: A meta-analysis of a homogeneous sample of prehypertensive and hypertensive individuals involving isometric handgrip exercise alone can further support previous findings and improve our understanding and recommendations for the management of these populations.

Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42020213081.

Keywords: Blood pressure; Hypertension; Isometric exercise; Prehypertension.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the systematic review study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Mills KT, Bundy JD, Kelly TN, Reed JE, Kearney PM, Reynolds K, et al. Global disparities of hypertension prevalence and control: a systematic analysis of population-based studies from 90 countries. Circulation. 2016;134:441–450. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.018912. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Forouzanfar MH, Liu P, Roth GA, Ng M, Biryukov S, Marczak L, et al. Global burden of hypertension and systolic blood pressure of at least 110 to 115 mm Hg, 1990-2015. JAMA. 2017;317:165–182. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.19043. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kearney PM, Whelton M, Reynolds K, Muntner P, Whelton PK, He J. Global burden of hypertension: analysis of worldwide data. Lancet. 2005;365:217–223. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)17741-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lewington S, Clarke R, Qizilbash N, Peto R, Collins R, Collaboration PS. Age-specific relevance of usual blood pressure to vascular mortality: a meta-analysis of individual data for one million adults in 61 prospective studies. Lancet. 2002;360:1903–1913. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(02)11911-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lackland DT, Roccella EJ, Deutsch AF, Fornage M, George MG, Howard G, et al. Factors influencing the decline in stroke mortality: a statement from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke. 2014;45:315–353. doi: 10.1161/01.str.0000437068.30550.cf. - DOI - PMC - PubMed