HYPERtension Reduction Through WALKing Stairs Versus Brisk Walking

Launched by KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET · Apr 23, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is exploring whether adding stair walking to a regular exercise routine can help improve the health of adults at risk for conditions like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Participants will be divided into three groups: one group will do both stair walking and brisk walking, another will focus only on brisk walking, and the third group will receive general lifestyle advice without specific exercise plans. The main goal is to see if the group that combines stair and brisk walking has lower blood pressure compared to the others. Participants will be monitored over six months and will receive support and feedback to help them stay active.

To be eligible for this trial, participants need to be at least 35 years old, have high blood pressure, be overweight or obese, and currently lead a physically inactive lifestyle. Those who are unable to do physical activity due to certain medical conditions, are pregnant, or cannot use the required app for monitoring won’t be included. If you join, you can expect to significantly increase your daily activity levels while receiving personalized support throughout the study. If successful, the results could provide a simple and cost-effective way to improve health through physical activity.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• • Inclusion Criteria
• Men and women aged 35 years or older with increased cardiometabolic risk, defined by all of the following:
• • 1. Clinically confirmed hypertension, with or without antihypertensive treatment, as documented in the Electronic Health Record (EHR).
• • 2. Overweight or obesity, defined as BMI between 27 and 40.
• 3. Physically inactive lifestyle, defined as either:
• • Light intensity or inactive category on the Stanford Brief Activity Survey (SBAS), or
• • Light intensity or inactive category in the physical activity section of the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare Lifestyle Questionnaire.
• • Exclusion Criteria
• Medical contraindications to physical activity (based on FYSS 2021, p. 182):
• • Severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis
• • Acute pulmonary embolism, myocarditis, pericarditis, or systemic infection (e.g., fever, muscle pain, lymphadenopathy)
• • Suspected or known aortic dissection
• • Severe hypertension (Grade 3: SBP \>180 mmHg or DBP \>110 mmHg), regardless of symptoms
• • Unstable coronary artery disease (including unstable angina, suboptimally treated stable angina, or recent myocardial infarction \<8 weeks)
• • Symptomatic, uncontrolled arrhythmia
• • Symptomatic, uncontrolled heart failure
• Other exclusion criteria:
• • Implanted pacemaker or ICD
• • Pregnancy
• • Smartphone incompatibility with Fitrockr© app (iOS \<16 or Android OS \<10)
• • Inability to understand Swedish or English
• • Any condition that may interfere with protocol compliance (e.g., severe mental illness or cognitive impairment)
• • Inability to walk stairs