December 11, 2007

Dominique Herman TRANSCENDENTAL meditation (TM) has been found to be superior to other stress reduction techniques in reducing high blood pressure, according to an analysis of 107 "high quality" meditation studies published in scientific journals up until the end of last year.

“The TM technique produces a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure that is not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress management,” it says in a statement released by the University of Kentucky (UKY) College of Medicine and endorsed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“The magnitude of the changes in blood pressure with the TM technique are at least as great as the changes found with major changes in diet or exercise that doctors often recommend, yet the TM technique does not require changes in lifestyle,” said James Anderson, professor of medicine at UKY and co-author of the analysis, published in this month's issue of Current Hypertension Reports.

Long-term changes in blood pressure on this scale were associated with at least a 15% reduction in rates of heart attack and stroke, he said. One of the studies, in the American Heart Association's journal, Hypertension, found the TM programme was as effective as anti-hypertensive drugs in reducing blood pressure in older black men, and twice as effective as progressive muscle relaxation in lowering hypertension.

A paper presented at the International Society on Hypertension in Japan last year found reduced left ventricular mass in men and women after eight months of TM practice.