Effects of Slow Breathing on Blood Pressure and Autonomic Function

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo32 enrolled

Overview

Hypertension is a chronic disease that affects about 23% of the brazilian population. The treatment of hypertension by pharmacological intervention is efficacious, but has side effects and significant costs. Techniques that reduce the respiratory rate are shown as a effective non-pharmacological treatment in controlling blood pressure. Evidence has shown that a slow and deep breathing rate, around 10 breaths per minute or less, significantly reduces blood pressure. However, the physiological mechanisms involved in blood pressure decrease due to decreased respiratory rate are not yet known. Therefore the goals of this study will evaluate the chronic effect of breathing exercise guided on office and 24 hours blood pressure and analyse the chronic effect of breathing exercise guided over the autonomic function in hypertensive patients in stages 1 and 2.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Hypertension

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Hypertensive patients with or without use of antihypertensive drug therapy with office systolic blood pressure between 140 and 179 mmHg and / or office diastolic between 90 and 109mmHg). * Adults over 18 years. * Both genders. Exclusion Criteria: * Use of medications that alter sympathetic nerve activity (beta blockers and / or sympatholytics). * Use of three or more classes of antihypertensive drugs * Secondary Hypertension * Chronic Respiratory Disease * Diabetes Mellitus. * Chronic Kidney Disease with Clearance Creatinine \<60 ml/min * Congestive heart failure * Coronary disease * Pregnant * BMI \> 30 kg/m2

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

blood pressure reduction

The blood pressure reduction in mmHg will be verified by office blood pressure measurement and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM)

Time frame: 8 weeks after the randomization

Secondary Outcomes

autonomic regulation

The autonomic function will be verified in the beginning and after 8 weeks from randomization as follows: muscle sympathetic nervous activity (MSNA) by microneurography technique (burst/min), plasma catecholamines levels (pg/ml) and heart rate variability by power spectral analysis (ms).

Time frame: 8 weeks after randomization