Alternative therapies could work just as well as drugs in lowering blood pressure, the American Heart Association has declared in an important ‘position paper’ to heart specialists.
Transcendental meditation (TM), yoga, relaxation techniques, biofeedback and acupuncture all have varying degrees of evidence to suggest they can help lower blood pressure, and some as effectively as pharmaceuticals, says AHA chairman Robert Brook and others.
In a special ‘Scientific Statement’, the AHA says that alternatives can help people with blood pressure higher than 120/80 mm Hg and anyone who can’t tolerate drugs. Alternative therapies shouldn’t be used as a replacement for good heart health advice such as exercising, losing weight and not smoking.
(Source: Hypertension, 2013; doi: 10.1161/HYP.0b013e318293645f)
