|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Transcendental Meditation Reduces High Blood
Pressure Without Lifestyle Changes
'Long-term changes in blood pressure of this
magnitude are associated with at least a 15 percent reduction in rates
of heart attack and stroke'
 Dec. 4, 2007 − People with high blood pressure may
find relief from Transcendental Meditation, according to a definitive
new meta-analysis of 107 published studies on stress reduction programs
and high blood pressure, which will be published in the December issue
of Current Hypertension Reports. An author claims this dispels
recent government reports that are negative on the quality of research
about meditation and high blood pressure.
The Transcendental Meditation technique produces a
statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure that is not
found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress
management, according to the report.
| |
Related Stories |
|
| |
High Blood Pressure Control is Equal with Common
Medications
ACEIs more likely than ARBs to cause
harmless, persistent cough
Nov. 2, 2007
Hispanic Women Respond Better to High Blood Pressure
Drugs than Non-Hispanic Whites
Half as likely, too, as white women to suffer adverse
outcomes
July 13, 2007
Being Overweight May Independently Increase Risk for
Heart Disease
Effects on blood pressure and
cholesterol could account for about 45% of the increased risk of
coronary heart disease
Sept. 11, 2007
Blood Pressure
Increase in Older Men from Heavy Drinking Counters Good Cholesterol
Risk of stroke - more sensitive to blood pressure than
heart attack - is not substantially lower in moderate drinkers
Aug. 28, 2007
High Blood Pressure May be Controlled Best by Pill
with Combined Medicines
May increase hypertension control rates from
36% to over 80%
May 21, 2007
Combo Drug Caduet Better for High Blood Pressure than Lipitor and
Norvasc
One-pill program also much less expensive say researchers
at American Heart Association Forum -
Read more... plus more
about high blood pressure...
May 11, 2007
Diabetes, High Blood Pressure Trump Race in Causing
Heart Failure Among Older Americans
African-Americans have more heart failure because
they have more diabetes, hypertension
March 27, 2007
Men with High Blood Pressure Drinking Moderate
Amounts of Alcohol May Lower Risk of Heart Attack
Also found rates of
stroke and death from heart disease did not differ from non-drinkers
January 2, 2007
Read the latest news on Senior
Health & Medicine |
|
The new meta-analysis reviewed randomized,
controlled trials of all stress reduction and relaxation methods in
participants with high blood pressure that have been published in
peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Blood pressure changes for the Transcendental
Meditation technique included average reductions of 5.0 points on
systolic blood pressure and 2.8 on diastolic blood pressure, which were
statistically significant, according to the review. The other stress
reduction programs did not show significant changes in blood pressure.
Blood pressure changes associated with
Transcendental Meditation practice were consistent with other controlled
studies showing reductions in cardiovascular risk factors, improved
markers of heart disease, and reduced mortality rates among participants
in the Transcendental Meditation program.
The new meta-analysis was conducted by researchers
at the Institute of Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi
University of Management, which receives funding from the National
Institutes of Health, and the University of Kentucky College of
Medicine.
Disputes government claims
According to Dr. James Anderson, professor of
medicine at the University of Kentucky and co-author of the new
meta-analysis, the findings of the new review rebut a July 2007 report
sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that
most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence
that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure. (Note:
See "About Meditation" below article for more on the position of these
government agencies.)
The new meta-analysis identified all high quality
meditation studies published through 2006 and rigorously analyzed their
effects, which the previous government report failed to do.
Anderson said the new meta-analysis includes only
high quality studies on all available stress reduction interventions.
The studies on Transcendental Meditation were conducted at five
independent universities and medical institutions, and the majority of
them were funded by competitive grants from the National Institutes of
Health.
The magnitude of the changes in blood pressure
with the Transcendental Meditation technique are at least as great as
the changes found with major changes in diet or exercise that doctors
often recommend, Anderson said.
Yet the Transcendental Meditation technique does
not require changes in lifestyle. Thus many patients with mild
hypertension or prehypertension may be able to avoid the need to take
blood pressure medications - all of which have adverse side effects.
Individuals with more severe forms of hypertension may be able to reduce
the number or dosages of their BP medications under the guidance of
their doctor.
Anderson added that long-term changes in blood
pressure of this magnitude are associated with at least a 15 percent
reduction in rates of heart attack and stroke.
This is important to everyone because
cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. and
worldwide, Anderson said.
The studys biostatistician, Maxwell Rainforth,
assistant professor of Physiology and Health Statistics at Maharishi
University of Management, said the meta-analysis used state-of-the-art
statistical methods to review 107 published studies in the field of
stress reduction, relaxation and blood pressure.
The twenty-three separate studies included in the
final analysis met well-known criteria for high scientific quality. That
is, these studies used repeated blood pressure measurements and
participants were randomized to either a stress reduction technique or
placebo-type control for at least eight weeks. The data we used are all
published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, Rainforth said.
According to Dr. Robert Schneider, director of the
Institute of Natural Medicine and Prevention and co-author, this
rigorously conducted meta-analysis indicates that the Transcendental
Meditation program is distinctively effective compared to other
scientifically studied techniques in lowering high blood pressure.
For those 100 million Americans with elevated
blood pressure, here is a scientifically documented, yet simple and easy
way to lower blood pressure without drugs and harmful side effects. In
addition, related studies show an integrated set of positive side
benefits, such as reduced stress, reduced heart disease levels and
longer lifespan with this technique to restore balance in the
cardiovascular system, mind and body, Schneider said.
Editors Notes:
In striving to become a Top 20 public research
institution, the University of Kentucky is a catalyst for a new
Commonwealth a Kentucky that is healthier, better educated, and
positioned to compete in a global and changing economy. For more
information about UKs efforts to become a Top 20 university, go
to
http://www.uky.edu/OPBPA/Top20.html
| |
About Meditation
By National Center
for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of
Health
The term
meditation
refers to a variety of techniques or practices intended to focus or
control attention. Most of them are rooted in Eastern religious or
spiritual traditions. These techniques have been used by many different
cultures throughout the world for thousands of years.
Today, many people
use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural settings
as a form of mind-body medicine. Many claims have been made about its
value in promoting or improving health and wellness.
Research on these
claims, as well as on how meditation might work, is important for NCCAM
and other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
To help clarify
the state of existing knowledge, NCCAM funded a systematic review of
available scientific literature on meditation practices for health.
The
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently published
this review, which was carried out by investigators at the University of
Alberta's AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Center. The report highlights
strengths and limitations in existing meditation research. While the
study found some evidence suggesting that meditation is associated with
potentially beneficial health effects, it also found that "firm
conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare cannot
be drawn based on the available evidence.
Future research on meditation
practices must be more rigorous in the design and execution of studies
and in the analysis and reporting of results."
NCCAM and other
components of NIH continue to sponsor studies to find out more about
meditation's effects, how it works, and for what diseases and conditions
it may be most helpful. NCCAM will use the AHRQ report and other sources
of information in developing plans for a workshop that will further
delve into the scientific issues and challenges unique to meditation
research.
●
Meditation for Health Purposes
●
Mind-Body Medicine: An Overview
●
NCCAM Strategic Plan 2005-2009 Expanding Horizons of Health Care
●
Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research (AHRQ)
More >>
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/
|
|
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
