EFFECT OF ISOMETRIC EXERCISE TRAINING AND ART THERAPY ON BLOOD PRESSURE, STRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN HYPERTENSIVE INDIVIDUALS: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Background: Hypertension (HTN) significantly impacts cardiovascular health and healthcare in India, causing 57% of stroke deaths and 24% of coronary heart disease deaths.In 2005, 20.6% of Indian men and 20.9% of women had HTN, with projections rising to 22.9% and 23.6% by 2025.HTN raises blood pressure, affecting both mental and physical health, deteriorating quality of life, and increasing stress, anxiety, and depression among patients.Method: An experimental study was conducted on primary hypertensive individuals between 35-65 years of age and randomly divided into two different groups based on inclusion and exclusion criteria.Group A (n=30) received Isometric exercise training and Group B (n=30) received combination of Isometric exercise training and Art therapy.A pre and post intervention of Blood pressure, DASS-21 and QOL SF-12 were measured as outcome measures for the study.The data were analyzed by SPSS 25 and Microsoft Excel.Result: Within-group analyses of the data suggested there is significant difference (<0.05) in blood pressure, stress and physical QOL in both the groups and also depression and mental QOL in group B only.Between the group analyses of the data suggested significant difference in systolic bp, diastolic bp, depression, anxiety and mental QOL. Conclusion:This study concluded that isometric exercise (GROUP A) enhances physical health among hypertensive individuals.The integration of isometric exercise with art therapy