Graded blood pressure reduction in hypertensive outpatients associated with use of a device to assist with slow breathing.
To study the effects of device-guided breathing on office systolic blood pressure (SBP), five centers randomized 149 untrained hypertensives (50% male, age 59+/-10 years, baseline blood pressure 150+/-9/86+/-9 mm Hg, 77% taking drug therapy). One half received a device to guide slow breathing; all received a home blood pressure monitor and only simple, written instructions. The changes in office SBP (adjusted for office-to-home difference in baseline SBP and accumulated time spent in slow breathing, guided and measured by the device) were significantly (p<0.001 for trend) correlated with accumulated time spent in slow breathing. Greater decreases in SBP (-15.0+/-1.8 vs. -7.3+/-1.9 mm Hg) were observed for those who spent more (vs. less) than 180 minutes over 8 weeks in slow breathing, as well as those who just monitored their blood pressure at home (-9.2+/-1.6 mm Hg). Thus, even without training, hypertensive patients who receive a device to guide slow breathing significantly lowered their office SBP if the total time spent in slow breathing over 8 weeks exceeded a "threshold" value of 180 minutes.
Department of Preventive Medicine, RUSH Medical College of RUSH University, RUSH University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. welliot@rush.edu
William J
WJ
Elliot
Joseph L
JL
Izzo
William B
WB
White
Douglas R
DR
Rosing
Christopher S
CS
Snyder
Ariela
A
Alter
Benjamin
B
Gavish
Henry R
HR
Black
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D001945:Breathing Exercises; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000628:therapy*; D007087:Illinois; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013147:Spirometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome