Although plenty of people have claimed that meditation and mindfulness may reduce high blood pressure, a new study has finally confirmed these findings from a clinical perspective.
Meditation and hypertension
A team of experts from Brown University set out to evaluate the “acceptability, feasibility and effects on hypothesized proximal self-regulation mechanisms.” The program was called Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP).
The 10-session program followed 43 people with high or elevated blood pressure and used multimodal interventions that included:
- mindfulness training
- information on how certain behaviors can raise blood pressure
- encouragement to take all prescribed medications
Volunteers who went through the program saw significant reductions in blood pressure—even one year later at follow-up. The most benefit was experienced by people with stage 2 uncontrolled hypertension (over 140 mmHg). These volunteers experienced a mean reduction of 15.1 mmHg.
More studies
Already, more research is in the works on a larger cohort (200 people).
“Future trials could involve a dismantling study, where we would take out some of the health education, for example, and see if mindfulness training still had significant effects,” says Eric Loucks, associate professor of epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, and medicine at Brown. “That’s certainly something we’re looking at doing in the long-term. But mindfulness training is usually designed to be integrated with standard medical care.”
Current treatment for hypertension
Common practice now is to encourage people with high blood pressure to exercise regularly, eat healthy and reduce salt intake. It’s good advice, but often difficult to maintain. Some patients also receive prescription medication to control hypertension.
High blood pressure carries with it some major risk factors for heart disease. And heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death around the world. Anything that brings us closer to a treatment for hypertension is worth looking into.
It can’t hurt to start meditation. It’s not something you need to talk to your doctor about before starting, but don’t go off any medications you’ve been prescribed.
