# Chrono-exercise is Medicine: Improving Blood Pressure and Vascular Function through Chronotherapy

> **NIH NIH R56** · MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $686,011

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This proposal will determine if exercise chronotherapy improves nocturnal blood pressure (BP) in older adults
with hypertension. Hypertension is the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the
leading cause of death in the U.S. Hypertension is estimated to affect 75% of older adults. While typically
managed using a combination of medications and lifestyle modifications, it is estimated that only 21% of adults
with hypertension have controlled BP. Therefore, optimizing treatment options for adults with hypertension is of
paramount importance. Nocturnal BP is an emerging target in the management of BP, given its association
with cardiovascular outcomes. Chronotherapy combined with hypertension medications is effective at lowering
nocturnal BP and future cardiovascular risk, with medications taken in the evening being more effective than
medications taken in the morning. Preliminary evidence suggests chronotherapy combined with exercise (i.e.,
planned physical activity) may impact the acute and chronic responses to exercise. This research will
characterize diurnal rhythms of vascular health outcomes across age and disease and guide timing of exercise
intervention and outcome assessment, which will lead to improved BP management and vascular function.
Three specific aims will accomplish this goal. Aim 1 will comprehensively evaluate the effect of age and
hypertension on macrovascular and microvascular diurnal rhythms. Endothelial function, microvascular
function and arterial stiffness will be evaluated along with 48-hr ambulatory BP monitoring and physical activity
tracking in young and older adults with and without hypertension. Aim 2 will study the acute BP and vascular
responses to exercise performed at different times of the day, focusing on post-exercise hypotension, in
particular nocturnal BP. Older adults with hypertension will complete a session of aerobic and isometric
handgrip exercise in the morning and evening. Baseline and post-exercise BP responses will be evaluated
immediately following exercise and for 24-hr using ambulatory BP monitoring. Endothelial function and
microvascular function will also be assessed at baseline and 12-hr post-exercise. Aim 3 will determine the
long-term impacts of exercise chronotherapy by evaluating exercise training time of day effects on nocturnal
BP and vascular function in postmenopausal women with hypertension. Participants will complete 8 weeks of
aerobic and isometric handgrip exercise training in the morning and evening. Ambulatory BP and vascular
function will be assessed pre- and post-training. The overarching hypothesis is that hypertension is
characterized by the reduction of diurnal rhythms in vascular function and that evening exercise in this
population will be more effective than morning exercise at lowering BP and improving vascular health both
after a single exercise bout and 8 weeks of exercise training. This proposal will facilitate a p...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10687416
- **Project number:** 1R56HL164575-01
- **Recipient organization:** MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KATHARINE DIANNE CURRIE
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $686,011
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-06 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10687416

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10687416, Chrono-exercise is Medicine: Improving Blood Pressure and Vascular Function through Chronotherapy (1R56HL164575-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10687416. Licensed CC0.

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