Advisor(s)

Gordon Fisher

Committee Member(s)

Christopher Ballmann
Fernando Ovalle

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

6-18-2026

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

School

School of Education

Department

Education

Abstract

Hypertension (HTN) is one of the most prevalent and modifiable risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Aerobic exercise is a well-known method to lower blood pressure (BP), but recently, isometric exercise has been purported to lower BP to a similar or greater extent. There is little known about the effects of isometric exercise on acute BP and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). Therefore, the purpose of this pilot study was to compare the effects of isometric and aerobic exercise on improving vascular hemodynamics and 24-hour ABP in hypertensive adults. METHODS: Seven participants (age 25-65 years) with a diagnosis of HTN participated in three conditions: a non-exercise control, aerobic, and isometric exercise. Brachial systolic (bSBP), brachial diastolic blood pressure (bDBP), central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), central diastolic blood pressure (cDBP) and augmentation index normalized to 75 beats per minute (AIx75) were measured at baseline, immediately post, 30 minutes post, and 60 minutes post for each condition. Additionally, 24-hour SBP, DBP, cSBP and cDBP were assessed following each condition using a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor (ABPM). RESULTS: Using a repeated measures ANOVA, there were no main effects of time, no main effects for condition and no condition x time interaction for all variables: bSBP, bDBP, cSBP, cDBP, 24-hour SBP, DBP, cSBP, cDBP and AIx75. There was a main effect of time on daytime (6AM-10PM) ABP and nighttime (10PM-6AM) ABP. CONCLUSIONS: These null findings may suggest that aerobic and isometric exercise may not affect BP and vascular hemodynamics acutely in hypertensive adults.

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