Comparison of cardiovascular biofeedback, neuromuscular biofeedback, and meditation in the treatment of borderline essential hypertension.

Compared the separate effects of 3 procedures for the reduction of high blood pressure (BP) in 3 treatment groups of 8 patients each (27–59 yrs old) with medically verified borderline hypertension: (a) Biofeedback for simultaneous reductions in systolic BP and heart rate was aimed directly at reductions in BP. (b) Biofeedback for reductions in integrated forearm and frontalis muscle EMG activity was aimed at general muscular relaxation. (c) Meditation relaxation based on the "relaxation response" procedure developed by H. Benson was aimed at total bodily and "mental" relaxation. Each S was studied in 2 baseline sessions, 8 training sessions, and a 6-wk follow-up. Half of the sample returned for a 1-yr follow-up. ANOVA of the 3 treatment groups over 8 training sessions, 20 trials per session, revealed significant effects for trials within sessions. However, there were no significant main effects or interactions related to differences between the treatment conditions or to changes in BP over the course of training sessions. Although all groups showed moderate reductions in BP as compared to initial values, no technique could be seen to produce a reduction in pressure greater than that observed in the baseline sessions. BPs of patients reporting for the 1-yr follow-up were not different from pretreatment baseline levels. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)