17 Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Training on Blood Pressure in Postmenopausal Women With Hypertension: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Menopause is considered an important determinant of hypertension in women, with 41% of postmenopausal women are hypertensive. Increased blood pressure (BP) in postmenopausal women can be caused by arterial stiffness, renin-angiotensin system activation, endothelial dysfunction, lack of estrogens, sympathetic activation, anxiety, and depression. Hence, they should be given special treatment, such as exercise therapy, to improve the quality of their hypertensive therapy. Whole-body vibration training (WBVT) is a resistance training known for its ability to improve arterial stiffness. However, its ability to decrease BP is still controversial.Objective: This study aims to identify the effects of WBVT on blood pressure in postmenopausal women with hypertension.Method: A systematic literature search was performed using particular keywords with medical subheading (MeSH) terms on three journal databases, including Pubmed, Proquest, and Cochrane. The search results were screened and assessed using inclusion and exclusion criteria, double article, and full text availability by three independent authors. The quality of the randomized control trial (RCT) was evaluated using the Jadad scale.Result: Four Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) consisting of 114 total patients were eligible to fulfil the criteria. All studies showed that WBVT significantly decreased systolic (10-12 mmHg) and diastolic (5-6 mmHg) BP compared with the control group. One study also showed a reduction of mean arterial pressure (9 mmHg).Conclusion: WBVT might be beneficial as an adjuvant therapy to reduce blood pressure in postmenopausal women with hypertension, but further research that includes more subjects is needed to confirm this result.