The Study
THE ANTIHYPERTENSIVE EFFECTS OF AEROBIC VERSUS ISOMETRIC HANDGRIP RESISTANCE EXERCISE
This study compared two kinds of exercise to see which one lowers blood pressure better in a small group of people. It found that walking or biking helped lower blood pressure more than squeezing a handgrip device. But it doesn't prove one exercise causes the change for everyone — just that it worked better in this group.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study compared two types of exercise — biking and squeezing a handgrip device — to see which one helps lower high blood pressure in overweight, middle-aged people.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 560 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1A 5–8 mmHg drop in blood pressure is clinically meaningful — it’s similar to the effect of some blood pressure medications.
- 2A 7.7 mmHg rise at night could be harmful, as nighttime BP is linked to heart risk.
- 3Biking lowered daytime blood pressure by about 5-8 mmHg right after and after 8 weeks.
- 4Squeezing the handgrip did nothing for daytime pressure but made nighttime diastolic pressure go up by 7.7 mmHg after 8 weeks.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of hypertension
Year
2017
Authors
Garrett I. Ash, B. Taylor, P. Thompson, Hayley V. MacDonald, Lauren M Lamberti, Ming-Hui Chen, P. Farinatti, W. Kraemer, G. Panza, A. Zaleski, Ved Deshpande, K. Ballard, Mohammadtokir Mujtaba, C. White, L. Pescatello
Related Content
Claims (6)
Aerobic exercise lowers systolic blood pressure by about 4.5 mm Hg, and isometric exercise lowers systolic blood pressure by about 8 mm Hg.
In middle-aged, obese adults with prehypertension, eight weeks of isometric handgrip training raises nighttime diastolic blood pressure by about 7.7 mmHg.
In middle-aged, obese adults with prehypertension, 8 weeks of aerobic exercise lowers awake systolic blood pressure by about 7.6 mmHg, while isometric handgrip training does not produce a similar reduction.
In middle-aged, obese adults with prehypertension, aerobic exercise lowers blood pressure more than isometric handgrip exercise, but neither exercise changes arterial stiffness enough to account for the difference in blood pressure reduction.
In middle-aged obese adults with prehypertension, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise lowers awake systolic blood pressure by 5.6 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 3.6 mmHg more than isometric handgrip exercise or rest.
In middle-aged, obese adults with prehypertension, performing isometric handgrip exercise does not lower awake blood pressure either immediately after exercise or after 8 weeks of training, and the effect is no different from resting.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.