8-week meditation program reduces BP in CKD patients: Study

USA: Preliminary results from a recent study indicate that 8 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) may reduce resting blood pressure in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Blood pressure-lowering effects of MBSR were regardless of changes in vascular endothelial function and arterial stiffness. 

The findings were presented at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2021. 

Vascular dysfunction and hypertension are common in CKD patients and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Mindfulness-based stress reduction is an 8-week meditation program that has been shown to reduce blood pressure in other patient populations. However, it was not known if it can lower BP in CKD patients, and also the underlying mechanism. To shed some light on the same, Juan Sebastian Arroyave from Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, US, and the team hypothesized that MBSR lowers blood pressure in CKD and that the BP-lowering effects of MBSR are mediated by improvements in vascular endothelial function and arterial stiffness.

The study included 19 patients with Stages III and IV, aged 40-80 years who were randomized to MBSR (n=14) versus Health Enhancement Program (HEP; the active control intervention; n=5) for 8 weeks. Endothelial function by Reactive Hyperemia Index (RHI), resting blood pressures, and arterial stiffness by Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) was measured at baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention. 

The authors found that those in the MBSR group showed a significant reduction in mean arterial pressure (MAP) (-7.3 ± 10.9), whereas there was no change in MAP within the HEP group (+4.4 ± 9.8 mmHg. There was no change in RHI and PWV after MBSR or HEP.

The MBSR group had a significant reduction in mean arterial pressure (MAP) (-7.3 ± 10.9), whereas there was no change in MAP within the HEP group (+4.4 ± 9.8 mmHg). RHI and PWV after MBSR or HEP remained unchanged.

To sum up, the preliminary results suggest that 8 weeks of MBSR may decrease resting blood pressure in CKD. These blood pressure lowering effects were observed independent of changes in vascular endothelial function and arterial stiffness. 

These are preliminary results for an ongoing clinical study that will include a larger sample size to extend these findings, the researchers note.