Smartphone-Guided Paced Breathing and Aerobic Exercise for Essential Hypertension

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is associated with reduced functional capacity and impaired quality of life. Non-pharmacological interventions, including aerobic exercise and paced breathing, may improve blood pressure control by enhancing cardiovascular and autonomic function. This randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether combining smartphone-guided paced breathing with aerobic exercise provides greater benefits than either intervention alone in adults with essential hypertension. Seventy-five participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) smartphone-guided paced breathing combined with aerobic exercise, (2) aerobic exercise alone, or (3) smartphone-guided paced breathing alone. The intervention will last 12 weeks. The primary outcome measures are systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Secondary outcome measures include heart rate, functional capacity assessed by the 6-Minute Walk Test, and health-related quality of life assessed using the Short Form-12 (SF-12) questionnaire. The findings of this study may help identify an effective, accessible, and low-cost non-pharmacological strategy for improving cardiovascular health and quality of life in patients with essential hypertension.

NCT Number	NCT07717996
Lead Sponsor	Cairo University
Conditions	Essential (Primary) Hypertension
Enrollment	75 participants
Start Date	2026-07-25
Primary Completion	2026-11-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-12-01 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-07-22