Comparison of the effects of 8 weeks of resistance training with and without blood flow restriction on hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and vascular endothelial growth factor in sedentary men with pre-hypertension

Yari, Ali; Hossein Pour Delavar, Sedigheh; Zabet, Ali

doi:10.48308/joeppa.2024.236368.1280

Comparison of the effects of 8 weeks of resistance training with and without blood flow restriction on hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and vascular endothelial growth factor in sedentary men with pre-hypertension

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Exercise Physiology, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran

² Department of Exercise Physiology, Kangavar branch, Islamic Azad University, Kangavar, Iran

10.48308/joeppa.2024.236368.1280

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Prehypertension is a major public health concern and independently increases the risk of hypertension and subsequent cardiovascular events. Prehypertension is one of the most significant risk factors for the development of atherosclerosis, heart failure, stroke, and renal failure in many countries. Therefore, in the present study attempts are made to investigate the effects of eight weeks of resistance/blood flow restriction training and traditional resistance training on hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in sedentary men with prehypertension.
Materials and Methods: In the present study, 36 young sedentary men with prehypertension (age, 39.5 ± 5.26 years; weight, 78.66 ± 2.43 kg; height, 176.91 ± 4.29 cm) volunteered to participate in the study. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups: control group (low-intensity resistance training without blood flow restriction), a low-intensity resistance training group with blood flow restriction, and a traditional resistance training group (high-intensity resistance training without blood flow restriction). The training programs were carried out over an eight-week period, three sessions per week. The control group performed resistance exercises at 30% of one-repetition maximum (1RM) without blood flow restriction, while the low-intensity resistance training group with blood flow restriction performed training at 30% of 1RM and traditional resistance training group performed exercises at 75% of 1RM. Forty eight hours before and after the training systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured using a sphygmomanometer, and plasma levels of VEGF and HIF-1α were measured by using the ELISA method. A pneumatic cuff was employed to induce blood flow restriction. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 24. Within- and between-group comparisons were done using dependent t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with Bonferroni post-hoc tests for post-hoc comparisons.
Results: A significant increase in VEGF (p = 0.001) and HIF-1α (p = 0.001) plasma levels was observed, along with a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (p = 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.001) in both experimental groups compared to the control group.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that resistance training with blood flow restriction produces effects comparable to traditional resistance training. Therefore, it can be concluded that resistance training with and without blood flow restriction are safe and effective strategies that can benefit patients with prehypertension.

Keywords

Main Subjects

cardiovascular and circulatory

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