NCT06617117

Central vs Brachial BP, Exercise, and Coronary Artery Disease

Completed NA Last updated 27 September 2024

What this trial tests

NA trial testing High-intensity combined exercise in Coronary Arterial Disease (CAD) in 35 participants. Completed in 15 March 2020.

Timeline

1 February 2018

Primary endpoint
15 March 2020

15 March 2020

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Egas Moniz - Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, CRL
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	crossover
Masking	none
Primary purpose	other
Enrollment	35
Start date	1 February 2018
Primary completion	15 March 2020
Estimated completion	15 March 2020
Sites	1 location across Portugal

Drugs / interventions tested

• High-intensity combined exercise
• Moderate-intensity combined exercise

Conditions studied

• Coronary Arterial Disease (CAD) — all drugs for Coronary Arterial Disease (CAD) →

Sponsor

Egas Moniz - Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, CRL — full company profile →

Who can join

Adults 55 to 85, any sex, with Coronary Arterial Disease (CAD). Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

High blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD), with 30-70% of CAD patients having elevated BP. The conventional method of measuring BP in the arm (brachial BP) may miss some cases, as individuals can have normal brachial pressure but elevated central systolic pressure, which is a more critical predictor of cardiovascular events. Lowering BP is a key objective in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Examining BP responses after a single bout of exercise could help predict how effectively exercise lowers BP over time. There is a well-established reduction in BP, known as post-exercise hypotension (PEH), which occurs after exercise. This drop is typically around 8 to 9 mmHg and is observed in individuals with and without hypertension. However, it may not occur in people with CAD. The reason for this difference is unclear but may relate to individual variability in exercise responses.

No research has closely examined individual responses to PEH in people with CAD, and it remains unclear whether exercise affects central and brachial BP differently, as some medications do. Additionally, exercise intensity may influence the magnitude of the BP reduction post-exercise. Higher-intensity exercise tends to cause a more significant BP drop, both in hypertensive and non-hypertensive individuals, typically within 20 to 60 minutes post-exercise.

Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the acute effects of combined exercise at different intensities on central and brachial blood pressure in individuals with and without coronary artery disease.

The key research questions were:

1. Is the BP response of central and brachial arteries to acute combined exercise similar? How does coronary artery disease influence these BP responses? Is there individual variability among people with CAD?
2. Does high-intensity exercise, compared to moderate-intensity exercise, produce more pronounced changes in BP in the post-acute exercise period?

All participants were asked to:

Complete two combined exercise sessions - one moderate- and one high-intensity bout. The order of the sessions was randomly assigned, similar to flipping a coin.

BP was measured before and after each acute exercise bout in the laboratory. The researchers compared central and brachial BP responses between exercise intensities (high vs. moderate) and populations (individuals with and without CAD).

Publications & conference data

2 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Post-exercise differential response of central and brachial blood pressure in patients with coronary artery disease: A randomized crossover trial.
   Marôco JL, Angarten V, Pinto R, Santos V, et al · · 2025 · cited 1× · PMID 39982938 · DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0317212
2. Repeatability of heart-rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity as metrics of cardiac autonomic function during exercise in young females and males.
   Gaspar MP, Marôco JL, Cruz L, Laranjo S, et al · · 2026 · PMID 41137920 · DOI 10.1007/s00421-025-06011-w