Effects of Different Inspiratory Muscle Training Protocols on Exercise Capacity, Respiratory Muscle Strength, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Hypertension

Aim. This study aimed to explore how varying inspiratory muscle training workloads affect exercise capacity, health-related quality of life (HrQoL), depression, peripheral and respiratory muscle strength, pulmonary function, dyspnea, fatigue, and physical activity levels in hypertension (HT) patients. Methods. A randomized, controlled three-arm study. Forty-five patients (58.37 ± 8.53 y, 7F/38M) with HT received IMT (7 days/8 weeks) by POWERbreathe® Classic LR device and were randomized to control group (CG, 10% maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), n: 15), low-load group (LLG, 30% MIP), and high-load group (HLG, %50 MIP). Exercise capacity, HrQoL, depression, peripheral and respiratory muscle strength, pulmonary function, fatigue, physical activity level, dyspnea, and sleep quality were evaluated before and after the training. Results. Exercise capacity, physical functioning, peripheral muscle strength, and resting dyspnea were statistically significantly improved in HLG and LLG after the training compared to CG p0.05. Statistically significant differences were found within all the groups in terms of MIP and PEF values of respiratory functions p