Study: Yoga and Meditation Proven Beneficial in Treating High Blood Pressure

According to an Aug. 22 press release, the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) announced the presentation of a study to determine how effective mind-body therapies (MBT) are in reducing high blood pressure or hypertension.

About 30 percent of adults in America currently have high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Further, nearly a third of those with high blood pressure don't know they have it. High blood pressure is known to be a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and kidney disease, and it's a leading cause of doctor visits in the country. According to the CDC, it was estimated that the direct and indirect costs of high blood pressure in the U.S. in 2006 would be $63.5 billion.

The CDC says that high blood pressure can be prevented or controlled through lifestyle changes and with medications when needed. However, the AANP asserts that approximately 50 million Americans are believed to have hypertension and that control of it is terribly inadequate, especially in light of hypertension's prevalence and the medical conditions associated with the disease.

According to the AANP, about 42 percent of the population have used complementary and alternative medicine to treat their health care problems, including approximately 3 million people who have tried mind-body techniques to treat their hypertension.

The study of mind-body techniques and conventional treatments was conducted by Drs. Ather Ali and David L. Katz of the Prevention Research Center, School of Medicine, Yale University; and Dr. Michael B. Bracken of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University. Dr. Ali presented the researchers' findings on Aug. 22, during the 22nd annual meeting of the AANP in Palm Springs, Calif.

The team of researchers systematically studied the efficacy of mind-body therapies versus placebo or active control therapies. The main focus was on changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, both before and after intervention. They compared mind-body techniques, including meditation, yoga, and guided imagery, (alone or in combination with conventional medical treatment), to conventional treatment alone and to no intervention while on a wait list.

Of the three mind-body therapies analyzed (yoga, meditation, and guided imagery), yoga demonstrated the most significant results, although meditation also demonstrated positive results in lowering high blood pressure.

Dr. Ali said: "This review shows that there is some high quality scientific literature supporting the use of mind-body therapies as a treatment for hypertension, and the magnitude of effect is clinically significant." According to the press release, Dr. Ali believes that mind-body therapies may be a good choice for adjunctive treatment of high blood pressure for motivated patients.

Sources:

Press release, Research Review Finds Yoga Beneficial in Reducing Hypertension; http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/532655/

CDC; http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/faqs.htm