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Respiratory Muscle Training and Intermittent Hypoxia: Additive Health Effects?

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Pre-Hypertension
Interventions
Procedure: RMT
Procedure: RMT + IH
Procedure: Control
Registration Number
NCT03313284
Lead Sponsor
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Brief Summary

The prevalence of pre-hypertension and hypertension in the elderly is very high. Apart from medication, physical exercise training is a potential strategy to reduce blood pressure, however, the ability to perform exercise can be limited in the elderly. Hence, alternative non-pharmacological strategies to reduce blood pressure are necessary. Two interventions that have been shown to positively influence blood pressure are respiratory muscle training (RMT) and intermittent hypoxia (IH). Whether a combination of RMT and IH yields even better effects is currently unknown. Therefore, in this study, the effect of a single session of RMT with and without IH on blood pressure and associated cardiovascular parameters will be investigated in elderly subjects with pre-hypertension.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
14
Inclusion Criteria
  • Age: 65-80 years
  • Systolic blood pressure between 130-139 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure lower than 90 mmHg
  • Non smoking
  • Normal Body-Mass-Index (BMI): 18.5-24.9 kg·m-2
  • Normal Lung Function
  • Willing to adhere to the general study rules
Exclusion Criteria
  • Known or suspected non-compliance, drug or alcohol abuse
  • Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, dementia, etc. of the participant
  • Previous enrolment into the current study
  • Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons
  • Intake of blood pressure medication
  • Intake of medications affecting sleep or the performance or the respiratory, cardiovascular or neuromuscular system
  • Acute or chronic illness other than prehypertension

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Study GroupRMT + IH-
Study GroupControl-
Study GroupRMT-
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in blood pressure in mmHgAt baseline after 20 min of lying in a supine position, every 5 minutes during the 60 min intervention, and 20, 35 and 50 min after the end of the intervention

Blood pressure before, during, and after each intervention measured with an automated sphygmomanometer

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in cardiac output in L/minAt baseline after 15min of lying in a supine position, every 5 minutes during the 60 min intervention, and 15, 30 and 45 min after the end of the intervention

Cardiac output before, during, and after each intervention measured with impedance cardiography

Change in heart rate variability in msAt baseline after 15min of lying in a supine position, every 5 minutes during the 60 min intervention, and 15, 30 and 45 min after the end of the intervention

Heart rate variability measured before, during and after each intervention with impedance cardiography

Changes in baroreflex sensitivity in ms/mmHgAt baseline after 15min of lying in a supine position, and 15, 30 and 45 min after the end of the intervention

Baroreflex sensitivity before and after each intervention assessed with photo plethysmography

Change in sleep efficiency defined as the ratio of total sleep time and time in bedContinuously during the night following each intervention, from time to bed until wake up time in the morning (i.e. on average approximately 8hours)

Sleep efficiency measured at home after each intervention with an actigraph

Change in pulse wave velocity in m/sAt baseline after 25 min of lying in a supine position, and 25, 40 and 55 min after the end of the intervention

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity before and after each intervention, assessed with a device that simultaneously records (non-invasively) pressure signals from the carotid and femoral arteries

Change in total peripheral resistance in dyn x s/cm^5At baseline after 15min of lying in a supine position, every 5 minutes during the 60 min intervention, and 15, 30 and 45 min after the end of the intervention

Total peripheral resistance before, during, and after each intervention measured with impedance cardiography

Change in peripheral oxygenation during sleep in %SaturationContinuously during the night following each intervention, from time to bed until wake up time in the morning (i.e. on average approximately 8hours)

Peripheral oxygenation during sleep measured at home after each intervention with a finger pulse oxymeter

Change in subjective sleep qualityWithin 5 minutes after waking-up following the night after each intervention

Sleep quality (i.e. "How well did you sleep?" and "How recovered are you?") measured at home after each intervention with a visual analog scale (VAS). The two VAS consists each of a 10cm-horizontal line, with the left end of the lines representing low sleep quality ("slept very badly" and "not recovered at all", respectively) and the right end representing good sleep quality ("slept very well" and "completely recovered", respectively). Participants are asked to draw a vertical line in between the two ends on each of the two VAS.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Exercise Physiology Lab, Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zurich

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Zurich, ZH, Switzerland

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