Squeeze your way to better blood pressure? handgrip exercise tested as a simple solution

NCT ID NCT06335433

Disease control Sponsor: Swansea University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jul 06, 2026 · Last updated Jul 07, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether doing simple handgrip exercises—squeezing a device for two minutes at a time—can lower blood pressure in people with hypertension. Participants will perform these exercises either two or four times a week for six weeks. The goal is to find the smallest effective amount of exercise needed to improve blood pressure and blood vessel health.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: Isometric handgrip exercise
What this could lead to: If effective, this could offer a simple, time-efficient exercise option to help manage blood pressure without needing medication changes.
What could go wrong: This is a small, early-phase study with 45 participants. Results may not apply to everyone, and the effect of reduced training frequency might be too small to be meaningful.

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Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 45 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Mar 2024

Expected to finish

Mar 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 65 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Aged between 18 and 65 years. * Scoring low or moderate on the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ). * Previous diagnosis of high blood pressure and/or a resting systolic blood pressure ≥130 but \<180 mmHg (self-reported and confirmed during screening/baseline assessment). * Currently taking no anti-hypertensive medicine or taking anti-hypertensive medicine with no treatment change within the last 4 months prior to enrollment. * Stable dietary and physical activity patterns (including dietary supplementation) over the last 4 months Exclusion Criteria: * Aged \<18 or \>65 years * Resting blood pressure ≥180/110 mmHg or resting heart rate \>100 bpm during baseline as-sessment * Manifest cardiovascular disease including cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, peripheral vascular disease, or advanced retinopathy (fundus hypertonicus grades III-IV) based on a self-report health history questionnaire. * Type 1 diabetes * History of other chronic disease including malignancy, neurological conditions (e.g. multiple sclerosis) or respiratory conditions (e.g. COPD). * Contraindications to exercise based on answers to the physical activity readiness questionnaire. * Physical limitations preventing handgrip exercise (e.g. arthritis or other musculoskeletal disorder) * Scoring "high" on the international physical activity questionnaire * Taking more than 2 anti-hypertensive drugs or a change in treatment strategy in the previous 4 months. * Currently taking nitrate medication (as it is commonly prescribed for angina) or on hormone replacement therapy * Significant self-reported change in lifestyle patterns in the prior 4 months (e.g. currently on a planned diet for weight loss).

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

hypertensive disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Hypertension

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
The official record

ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

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A doctor treating you

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Squeeze your way to better blood pressure? handgrip exercise tested as a simple solution

What the study statuses mean