Efficacy of a 6-week VR exergame for older adults with essential hypertension: a randomized controlled pilot trial

This study aimed to examine the initial efficacy of a virtual reality (VR) exergame for blood pressure (BP), body composition, lung function, physical working capacity, and mobility in older hypertensive adults. Furthermore, the objective was to explore the exercise intensities that can be reached during the training. This study was designed as a randomized controlled pilot trial. The exergame group (EG) completed 6-week training using VR; the conventional training group (CTG) performed conventional group training over the same time period. The sample included thirty-five participants with essential hypertension randomized with a ratio of 2:1 to EG (n = 23) and CTG (n = 12). The training was performed twice a week and consisted of strength endurance and endurance training sessions in alteration, which lasted from 20 to 30 min. Within the groups, systolic and diastolic BP were significantly reduced only in the EG. There were no group differences with regard to BP. The heart rate (HR) results showed no significant differences within and between groups in the pre-post comparison. Overall, a significant increase in HR during exercise was observed in both groups. On average, only the EG was able to reach the target intensity of 40-60%. In addition, blood pressure was significantly lower 5 min after training in EG than in CTG. This pilot study showed that 6 weeks of training with VR can lead to reaching the target heart rate during exercise and indicate a greater reduction in BP after training in older adults with hypertension. This pilot study provides useful insights into the potential of VR exergaming and for future research.