In a nutshell
This review assessed the impact of yoga in the management of blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension (EH).
Some background
Essential hypertension, also called primary hypertension, is a rise in blood pressure for which there is no clearly defined cause. EH is the main type of hypertension and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Conventional treatments (drugs, medical procedures to lower blood pressure) or complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), such as yoga, can be used to manage and treat EH. Yoga is a mind-body practice that combines stretching exercises, controlled breathing and relaxation in disease or stress management. This study reviewed several trials and evaluated the impact of yoga in the management of EH.
Methods & findings
This review included 6 studies, involving a total of 386 patients. 4 studies that compared the effect of yoga plus conventional therapy versus conventional therapy alone showed that yoga improved both systolic blood pressure or SBP (pressure in the arteries when the heart beats) and diastolic blood pressure or DBP (pressure in the arteries between heartbeats). In fact, one of these studies showed a 3.5% reduction in SBP in the yoga and conventional therapy group compared to 1.3% reduction in SBP in the conventional therapy group. Also, there was a 6.5% reduction in DBP in patients practicing yoga compared to a 2.7% decrease in those not practicing yoga. In addition, when yoga was compared to no treatment for EH, yoga was superior in controlling both SBP and DBP.
The bottom line
In summary, this review showed that, when compared to conventional therapy or no treatment, yoga has superior results in the reduction both SBP and DBP in patients with EH.
What’s next?
Talk to your physician about yoga in managing your blood pressure.
Published By :
PLOS ONE
Date :
Oct 04, 2013
