Daily spiritual tips on your smartphone have been proven to significantly reduce blood pressure. After just twelve weeks, daily smartphone messages about optimism, gratitude and forgiveness show a significant blood pressure-lowering effect in people with high blood pressure.
The Brazilian cardiologist Dr. Maria Emília Teixeira from the Federal University of Goiás presented the results of a clinical trial determining the effects of a spirituality intervention on blood pressure at this year’s American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session. Accordingly, a significant effect actually seems to be detectable.
Reduce blood pressure with spirituality?
Spirituality-based interventions, including meditation and positive social interactions, have been linked to cardiovascular health benefits in previous studies, the cardiologist reports.
The team led by Dr. Maria Emília Teixeira now studied 100 people who were treated for high blood pressure in a medical center in Brazil.
Twelve-week intervention
Half of the participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group, while the other half received no intervention. According to the expert, the intervention focused on cultivating optimism, gratitude and forgiveness.
The participants in the intervention group received a WhatsApp message every day over a period of twelve weeks with short instructions and videos that asked them to stop and think, to concentrate on certain values or the meaning of life or to complete a short task.
Assessments of lifestyle habits, medication use, blood pressure, and flow-mediated dilatation (a non-invasive measure of blood vessel health) were performed at baseline and after 12 weeks.
In addition, participants recorded their blood pressure at home for the first five days and last five days of the study period, and those with medication changes during the course of the study were excluded from the analysis, reports Dr. Teixeira.
Significant reduction in blood pressure
The data analysis showed a significant reduction in blood pressure in the intervention group after twelve weeks, both in comparison to their own initial blood pressure and to the final blood pressure measurements of the control group.
The participants recorded an average decrease in systolic blood pressure of 7 mmHg and also showed improvements in other indicators of blood vessel health, explains the cardiologist.
There was also a significant improvement in flow-mediated dilatation after the intervention, while, according to the expert, there was a significant deterioration in flow-mediated dilatation in the participants in the control group.
According to Dr. Teixeira is greater than other non-pharmacological interventions and could even outperform some medications. In addition, the intervention is relatively easy to implement and “absolutely affordable”.
“With this significant reduction in blood pressure, you could potentially live longer and have a lower risk of heart attack, kidney disease, stroke or disability later in life,” concludes Dr. Teixeira. (fp)