Short-Duration High-Intensity Interval Exercise Training Is More Effective Than Long Duration for Blood Pressure and Arterial Stiffness But Not for Inflammatory Markers and Lipid Profiles in Patients With Stage 1 Hypertension

Purpose: The present study compared the effects of 2 different high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols on arterial stiffness, lipid profiles, and inflammatory markers in hypertensive patients.

Methods: Thirty hypertensive (stage 1) patients, aged 48.0 ± 3.2 yr, were randomly allocated to the short-duration HIIT (SDHIIT, n = 10), long-duration HIIT (LDHIIT, n = 10), and control (n = 10) groups. After a 2-wk preparatory phase of continuous mild training, patients in the SDHIIT group performed 8 wk of HIIT including 27 repetitions of 30-sec activity at 80% to 100% of (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2peak interspersed with 30-sec passive/active (10%-20% of (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2peak) recovery. Patients in the LDHIIT group performed 8 wk of HIIT, 32 min/session including 4 repetitions of 4-min activity at 75% to 90% of (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2peak interspersed with 4-min passive/active (15%-30% of (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2peak) recovery. Blood pressure (BP), pulse wave velocity (PWV), inflammatory markers, and lipid profiles were measured before and after training.

Results: Significant (P < .05) reductions in systolic blood pressure and PWV were found following 2 training protocols, though, only the changes in PWV following the SDHIIT were significantly different than those in the LDHIIT and control groups. Interleukin-6 and triglycerides decreased and interleukin-10 increased significantly (P < .01) following both HIIT programs, whereas the differences between the 2 training protocols were not statistically significant. C-reactive protein and lipids did not change significantly following HIIT.

Conclusions: Performing HIIT improves systolic blood pressure and inflammatory markers in patients with stage 1 hypertension irrespective of the HIIT intensity and duration, and PWV improvement is intensity related.