Audio Relaxation Program May Help Lower Blood Pressure In Elderly

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080917175031.htm

 

ScienceDaily (Sep. 17, 2008) — An audio relaxation program lowered

blood pressure more than a Mozart sonata in a group of elderly people

with high blood pressure, researchers reported at the American Heart

Association's 62nd Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High

Blood Pressure Research.

 

In a study of 41 elderly participants at three retirement facilities:

 

* Twenty participants listened three times a week for four months

to a 12-minute audio-guided relaxation training program (ATP) with

background sounds of ocean waves and a calming voice.

* The group of 21 participants listened to a 12-minute Mozart

sonata three times a week for four months.

* Researchers recorded systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood

pressure and heart rate before and after each session.

 

The ATP group lowered their:

 

* blood pressure from 141/73 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) to

132/70 mmHg and

* heart rates from 73 to 70 beats per minute.

 

The Mozart music listeners also lowered their:

 

* blood pressure levels from 141/71 mmHg to 134/69 mmHg and

* heart rates from 69 to 66 beats per minute.

 

The decrease in systolic blood pressure was greater in the ATP group

than the Mozart group: 6.4 percent (9 mmHg) versus almost 5 percent (7

mmHg).

 

For both groups, the reduction in systolic blood pressures after

intervention were statistically significant, although it may not reach

clinical significance.

 

" Physiologic augmentation is difficult to achieve, especially with

blood pressure study, because people can only lower their blood

pressure to a certain extent, " Tang said. " A 3 percent-5 percent

change has been used as the cutting point in clinical research. It has

been suggested that a 5 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure

would result in a 9 percent reduction in coronary heart disease

related death and 14 percent reduction in stroke related death. "

 

However, the drop in diastolic blood pressure approached, but didn't

reach, a statistical difference, with slightly more than a 4 percent

drop in the ATP group and a 2.8 percent drop in the music group. The

decline in heart rate showed no difference between the two groups, she

added.

 

" Higher systolic blood pressure is very prevalent in the elderly

population, " said Jean Tang, Ph.D., ARNP, lead author of the study and

assistant professor in the College of Nursing at Seattle University.

" This program may provide yet another way to help manage hypertension

in conjunction with medication, lifestyle changes, exercise, diet and

stress management. "

 

The hypertension rate in Americans more than 65 years old is between

60 percent and 80 percent, with isolated systolic hypertension

accounting for 65 percent to 75 percent of cases, according to the

U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

 

The ATP sessions consisted of listening with headphones to a CD of

ocean waves in the background — a binaural sound that is calming while

a voice guides listeners to relax from head to toe and do deep

abdominal breathing. Binaural tones are a special kind of stereophonic

sound that incorporates two tones which are of two different

frequencies for brainwave entrainment.

 

The Mozart sonata group listened to 12 minutes of music.

 

" The binaural sound regulates the brain waves to the alpha range,

which produces a calming effect allowing participants to concentrate, "

Tang said. " The relaxation method affects the parasympathetic nervous

system, which lowers the blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels. "

 

The relaxation therapy program, used for years to correct TMJ problems

(acute or chronic inflammation of the temporomandibular joint which

connects the lower jaw to the skull), for chronic pain, cancer

patients and to train athletes, had never been used in the elderly for

blood pressure reduction.

 

" Both groups did really well in reducing their blood pressures, " Tang

said. " But the guided relaxation group did a little bit better. It is

very possible that the guided relaxation group members were better

able to connect their mind with their body. Some in the classical

music session may have just sat through it without consciously trying

to relax their body.

 

" We had some participants in the ATP group that were skeptical; they

didn't like the man's voice and wanted to switch to the music group.

But even when they didn't like the program, their blood pressure was

reduced after the intervention. "

 

Healthcare providers can use the simple program not only to help

patients manage stress, but as a supplemental option to lower blood

pressure, Tang said. " This is a self-regulation tool that promotes

patient autonomy in managing their health. Nursing homes or senior

living facilities may use this without a doctor's order. It's

noninvasive, available and has been around for 20 years. "

 

However, long-term adherence to the program may be a problem in

elderly people with high blood pressure, Tang said. Although a few

individuals reported their doctors reduced their hypertension

medications after regular program use, a three-month follow-up showed

that only 52 percent of participants continued to use the relaxation

technique regularly.

 

Co-authors are: Verna Harms, Ph.D., ARNP; Sarah M. Speck, M.D.,

M.P.H., FACC; and Toni Vezeau, Ph.D., R.N.C. Disclosures for

individual authors are available on the abstract.

 

This project was conducted jointly by the College of Nursing, Seattle

University; and the Center for Cardiovascular Wellness, Swedish Heart

and Vascular Institute.

 

The study was funded by John L. Locke Jr. Charitable Trust in Perpetuity.