Improving Age-Related Cognitive Decline with Exercise in Hypertensive Older Adults

Purpose

The investigator aims to assess the extent to which a brief exercise intervention improves systemic growth factor concentrations, reverses loss of systemic vascular networks and hypertension, and by extension, improves neurocognition. To test the investigator's hypothesis that increased cardiovascular fitness will correlate with improved vascular density, the investigator proposes the innovative use of retinal density scans.

Condition

  • Hypertension

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 55 Years and 75 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • adults between 55-75 years of age - essential hypertension (as determined by referring physicians) - engages in less than 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise/week (as determined by CHAMPS Questionnaire) - physically able to exercise - access to an upright cycle ergometer at home or via gym access - access to smart device (iOS or Android phone or tablet with ability to install and use Polar Beat and Polar FlowTM applications).

Exclusion Criteria

  • diagnosis of dementia - resting systolic blood pressure <120, or >180 mm Hg - disease or condition that would preclude exercise - untreated depression or anxiety disorders - severe respiratory disease - disease of the eye - refractive error > 6 diopters or +6 diopters (as assessed by 1st retinal scan).

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
N/A
Intervention Model
Single Group Assignment
Primary Purpose
Supportive Care
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Vascular Density Improvement in Hypertensive Participants 		Participants will undergo baseline visits and follow-up visits to include neurocognitive testing, VO2 max testing (graded exercise test), blood draws, and retinal scans. Potential subjects must pass an exercise stress test with 12-lead ECG, and training sessions (exercise protocol). Standardized neurocognitive tests assessing functions such as memory and attention will be administered and retinal scans will be conducted. The at-home exercise intervention will be supervised via the Polar beat/flow applications by study personnel. Subjects will engage in cardiovascular exercise with heart rate monitoring on 4 days per week for a total of 10 weeks.
  • Other: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Exercise
    Participants will exercise 4 days/week for 10 weeks using the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) protocol. Sessions can be conducted at home or at a gym with access to a cycle ergometer. Participants will undergo 2 supervised training sessions to learn the HIIT protocol. To record heart rate, session duration, and time at each exercise intensity, participants will be provided with an H10 Polar TM heart rate chest strap monitor and a Polar Beat/Polar Flow account. Participants will download the Polar Beat/Flow smart phone application to record exercise sessions and allow the researcher to conduct remote data monitoring. Research staff will contact participants twice per week to provide feedback.

Recruiting Locations

University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama 35233
Contact:
Ronald Lazar, PhD
205-934-2334
rlazar@uabmc.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study Contact

Ronald Lazar, PhD
205-934-2334
rlazar@uabmc.edu