BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the effectiveness of inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST) as a time-efficient alternative to widely recommended aerobic exercise (AE) for reducing and maintaining blood pressure in hypertensive patients. METHODS: Twenty-eight hypertensive patients (aged 61 +/- 7 years) were randomly assigned to IMST (n = 14) and AE (n = 14) groups. The IMST performed 30 breaths/session at 75% of maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax), totaling about 8 minutes, 5 days/week. The AE group exercised at 70% of heart rate reserve for 30 minutes/session, 5 days/week. Both supervised interventions lasted 8 weeks, followed by a 4-week detraining period. Brachial and central systolic blood pressure (SBP) were taken at baseline, 8-week post-intervention, and post-detraining. RESULTS: The mean (standard deviation) change in brachial SBP from baseline to 8 week post-intervention significantly decreased in both the IMST group (-9.1 (12.1) mmHg, p = 0.01) and the AE group (-6.2 (7.2) mmHg, p = 0.01), with no significant difference between groups (p = 0.46). Central SBP also significantly reduced in the IMST group (-9.0 (11.9) mmHg, p = 0.01) and in the AE group (-5.7 (6.2) mmHg, p = 0.01), with no significant difference between groups (p = 0.37). However, the IMST group did not show significant persistence in SBP reduction, whereas the AE group did., CONCLUSIONS: Both IMST and AE effectively reduced brachial and central BP after 8-week interventions in hypertensive patients. While IMST presents a time-efficient adjunctive option to AE, its long-term effectiveness remains uncertain.

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