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Various disciplines of what is known as mind/body medicine are also used as therapy for hypertension. These disciplines include slow, controlled breathing, transcendental meditation, hypnotherapy, and biofeedback. They generally are believed to lower blood pressure because the reduce stress levels in the body.
Here are some examples of research into the field of mind/body medicine and its effect on blood pressure. One systematic review of five trials, two being randomized and controlled (RCTs), involving slow, controlled breathing that showed a blood pressure (BP) lowering effect in four of those trials.16 Transcendental meditation is done by closing your eyes twice a day and repeating a mantra. One meta-analysis of nine RCTs showed it had a significant reduction in BP.16 This practice has also been shown to reduce other cardiovascular risk factors as well as cardiovascular disease incidence.12 A few, small RCTs have shown that biofeedback is effective in mild hypertension.9
The small amount of research done into mind/body medicine and its effect on hypertension is promising. However, the quality of this research needs to be looked into. It would make logical sense that reducing stress would lower blood pressure because the body releases catecholamines in stress, which have a direct effect on blood pressure. However, these exercises are only performed for a small period of the day. Therefore, it would also be logical to assume that these practices might not have long-term effects on blood pressure. In fact, the JNC report found no support for relaxation techniques for prevention of hypertension.5 |
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