Device-guided breathing exercises reduce blood pressure: ambulatory and home measurements.

Slow breathing practiced routinely using an interactive device has demonstrated a sustained reduction in high blood pressure (BP). We reevaluated the BP response of hypertensives (n = 13) to this daily treatment for 8 weeks using 24-h ambulatory, home, and office BP measurements. A clinically significant BP reduction of similar magnitude was observed in all BP monitoring modalities during the daytime. Greater BP reductions were found for older patients and higher baseline BP. The results provide additional support for the efficacy of the device as an adjunctive lifestyle modification for treating hypertension.

[1]  M. Marmot,et al.  Trial of relaxation in reducing coronary risk: four year follow up. , 1985, British medical journal.

[2]  Detection The sixth report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC VI) , 1997 .

[3]  A. Logan,et al.  Effect of reduced dietary sodium on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. , 1996, JAMA.

[4]  P. Novak,et al.  Altered cardiorespiratory transfer in hypertension. , 1994, Hypertension.

[5]  A. Galecki,et al.  The independent and combined effects of weight loss and aerobic exercise on blood pressure and oral glucose tolerance in older men. , 1998, American journal of hypertension.

[6]  G. V. Marie,et al.  Relaxation and stress management in the treatment of essential hypertension. , 1986, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[7]  D L Eckberg,et al.  Controlled breathing protocols probe human autonomic cardiovascular rhythms. , 1998, The American journal of physiology.

[8]  F Mastropasqua,et al.  Effect of respiratory rate on the relationships between RR interval and systolic blood pressure fluctuations: a frequency-dependent phenomenon. , 1998, Cardiovascular research.

[9]  Dubroca,et al.  Superiority of home blood pressure measurements over office measurements for testing antihypertensive drugs. , 1998, Blood pressure monitoring.

[10]  R. Weinshilboum,et al.  The sixth report of the Joint National Committee on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure. , 1997, Archives of internal medicine.

[11]  G. Parati,et al.  Effect of placebo on 24-h non-invasive ambulatory blood pressure. , 1991, Journal of hypertension.