Cardiovascular

If you have mildly elevated blood pressure (140 to 160 systolic over 90 to 100 diastolic), meditation might help you cut back on medication, according to a study on 150 African Americans, the majority of them taking hypertension drugs, published in the American Journal of Hypertension. Researchers compared the effects of transcendental meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and conventional health education classes. After one year, the TM group's blood pressure dropped an average of 3 mm systolic and 6 mm diastolic, compared to no systolic reduction and a 3mm diastolic decrease in the other two groups. The meditation group also used 23 percent less medication. "By continuing their practice of TM, people might be able to reduce their blood pressure even lower than those in the study did," says investigation leader Robert Schneider, M.D.

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group