Ischemic Conditioning to Promote Microvascular Resiliency in Frail Individuals

The goal of this clinical trial is to see how small blood vessels respond to the stress of high intensity exercise, and if a safe and simple intervention called ischemic conditioning can protect blood vessels from the stress of exercise.

Participants will come in for 3 study visits and get home-based ischemic conditioning. At Study Visit 1, participants will be assessed for their frailty and physical function. Afterwards, they will perform an exercise test. At Study Visit 2, patients will undergo 2 microvascular assessments, perform a high-intensity exercise, then undergo the same 2 microvascular assessments again. Participants will be given a handheld sphygmomanometer and a blood pressure cuff to take home. Depending on which group the participants get randomized into, participants will place the blood pressure cuff around their non-dominant upper arm and inflate to either a low or high pressure for 2 weeks at home. Participants will repeat the same steps in Study Visit 2 for Study Visit 3. In addition, participants will also be assessed for their frailty and physical function.