Effects of whole-body electromyostimulation with different impulse intensity on blood pressure changes in hyper- and normotensive overweight people. A pilot study

Abstract

Hypertension is a frequent condition in untrained middle-aged to older adults, who form the core group of whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) applicants. So far, the acute effects of varying impulse intensities on blood pressure responses have not been evaluated in normo- and hypertensive people. Thirteen hypertensive and twelve normotensive overweight WB-EMS novices, 40–70 years old, conducted the same WB-EMS protocol (20 min, bipolar, 85 Hz, 350 µs, 4 s impulse-4 s rest; combined with easy movements) with increasing impulse intensity (low, moderate, advanced) per session. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) as determined by automatic sphygmomanometry rose significantly (p