The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of a short yoga program practiced daily at home on blood pressure, quality of Life and stress. The subjects of the study are primary health care patients diagnosed with hypertension, with or without current medication.
Hypertension is one of the most common diseases in the world, affecting approximately 26% of the adult population. Persistent hypertension increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure. Hypertension is a common diagnosis in primary health care and the societal costs of examination and treatment of hypertension and its consequences are considerable. The YHIP-study (The Impact of Yoga on Blood Pressure and Quality of Life in Patients With Hypertension), that investigated yoga as additional treatment for hypertension on primary care patients, showed that a short yoga program practiced daily at home had a blood pressure lowering effect as well as a positive effect on self-rated quality of life compared to control. Other previous studies have demonstrated positive effects of yoga on blood pressure, quality of life, subjective well-being and stress. However, these studies are relatively few and we need to further investigate the possibility of using yoga as a treatment in primary health care. If the yoga intervention shows to be effective, yoga exercises may be useful as a supplementary BP therapy in addition to medical treatment when prescribed by primary care physicians. It is to be hoped that patients will also experience a higher quality of life and less stress if they perform yoga on a regular basis.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
190
The participants in the Yoga group will get a private doctors appointment (20 minutes) where they get instructions for two yoga exercises to perform at home 15 minutes twice a day. The two yoga exercises were: 1. "Left nostril breathing" - deep breaths in and out through the left nostril while sitting or lying down, with the right nostril closed off by the right thumb or an earplug (about 11 minutes); and 2. "Spinal flex" - movement that alternates between flexing the spine forwards (arching) and relaxing the spine back in time with deep breaths while sitting in a chair (about 4 minutes).
Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lunds University
Malmo, Sweden
Hypertension
At the beginning of the study, all subjects will undergo a standardized blood pressure test with an hypertension monitor. After 12 weeks, all subjects in the intervention and control groups will again be requested to attend a blood pressure testing session
Time frame: 12 weeks
Quality of life
At the beginning of the study, all subjects will be requested to fill in a questionnaire about their quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). After 12 weeks all subjects in the intervention and control groups will fill in the quality of life-form for a second time.
Time frame: 12 weeks
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.