Study Finds Measured Hand Exercises Can Lower Blood Pressure

10/13/2003

From: Dan Herschede of Tactical Healthcare Marketing 740-965-6128 or djhersch@msn.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 13 -- A recent study performed at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario has verified that high blood pressure can be lowered through controlled hand isometric exercises. The study showed that participants using this methodology reduced their systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 19mm and 7mm, respectively, over an eleven-week period. Details of this study were reported in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, an American College of Sports Medicine publication and can be found on their website at http://www.acsm-msse.org/ (QuickSearch Journal Content with the key words "isometric training lowers").

The hand isometric method was measured by a training device called CardioGrip, a sophisticated hand dynamometer that guides the user through a series of timed squeeze and release hand isometrics using digital readouts and audio cues. The study involved seventeen hypertensive men and women, 60-80 years of age, who were split into a "control" group not using the CardioGrip and a "training group" using the device. The training group realized a reduction of systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 19mm and 7mm, respectively, over an eleven-week period.

The McMaster study is one of many clinical trials that have proven that those individuals with higher than normal blood pressure who use this method 7-12 minutes a day, 3 times a week over a 5- week period, experience a 95 percent success rate of a 12mm to 15mm reduction in blood pressure.

Details of these studies can be found at http://www.cardiogrip.com.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewed the CardioGrip method in 1998 and has authorized its use as an alternative or in addition to prescription drugs or exercise programs that manage cardiovascular health.

The CardioGrip protocol first measures the maximum grip strength to calibrate the user's individual routine for the exercise. Its digital display and audio tones then guide the user to perform a precise level of gripping effort for a precise amount of time. Each effort is spaced by timed rest periods. The hand contractions are measured to minimize fatigue and to maintain safe levels of blood pressure elevation during the isometric effort. The rest periods are designed to allow elevated pressures to normalize before beginning the next hand exercise. This routine is repeated with alternate hands for a total of four times. The entire daily session takes less than twelve minutes. Some CardioGrip models offer a shorter 7-minute protocol.

Dr. Ronald L. Wiley, a professor of cardiopulmonary physiology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, first discovered the effect of controlled hand isometric exercises on blood pressure when he was working with U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter pilots during the 1970's as a scientist at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. After two decades of research, he developed a precise protocol to effectively lower blood pressure. Based on these results, the CardioGrip was invented.

The CardioGrip was patented by MD Systems in Columbus, Ohio in 1995 and has been test marketed on limited basis to aviators. Because of success and customer satisfaction, it is now being made available to the general public. The CardioGrip consumer model sells for $350. To learn more about how the CardioGrip was developed or its physiology behind blood pressure reduction, go to http://www.cardiogrip.com or call 888-429-4747, toll-free.