Background: Hypertension is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against the artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems. Uncontrolled hypertension (HTN) is responsible for 62% of cerebrovascular diseases and 45% of ischemic heart disease events. Yoga therapy may have a role in lowering blood pressure. This systematic review aims to synthesize the available literature for the same.
Summary: This research review was conducted on the articles published up to January 2022. The authors searched online databases like Medline/PubMed, Science Direct, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar published in English, using Yoga for hypertension (including meditation) as the intervention and having an adequate description of the intervention. The majority of studies showed that there is a significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. This modest decrease may significantly decrease stroke mortality and coronary heart disease in the general population. The yoga intervention included breathing exercises, meditation, and postures.
Key messages: Yoga can be preliminarily recommended as an effective intervention for reducing blood pressure. This review provides an idea of the role of Yoga in hypertension and its future therapeutic implications. Additional rigorous controlled trials are warranted to investigate Yoga's potential benefits further.
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