A STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF RELAXATION AND BIOFEEDBACK ASSISTED RELAXATION ON PATIENTS WITH MILD HYPERTENSION

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases worldwide. Because of its chronicity, hypertension requires life-long therapy. Many patients tend to discontinue therapy and seek alternative treatments. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of two behavioral therapeutic techniques, namely relaxation and biofeedback-assisted relaxation in reducing blood pressure.METHODS: Fifty-six mildly hypertensive men (aged between 30 and 60 years) who did not use any pharmacological treatment, took part in this study. The participants were randomly divided into three groups, relaxation (group one), biofeedback-assisted relaxation (group two) and control (group three). The treatment course consisted of ten sessions (every other day). Relaxation was performed in groups one and two for 15 minutes during each session. In group 2, for another 15 minutes at the end of each relaxation session, blood pressure was measured at 2- to 3-minute intervals and declared to the patient. Heart rate and blood pressure were measured and recorded before and after each session. In the control group, only blood pressure was measured at each session. Stress was measured using Malekpoor questionnaire with 67% validity. Anxiety was measured by Ketel s questionnaire. The patients filled stress and anxiety questionnaires before and after the study period (20 days).RESULTS: Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased after the study period in groups one and two. There was a significant difference between groups one and three (P 0.05) and between groups two and three (P 0.05).DISCUSSION: Relaxation and biofeedback-assisted relaxation techniques can reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure, hence their benefits in the treatment of hypertension can be used in appropriate settings.