Relaxation training may improve control of hard-to-treat systolic hypertension

Adding the relaxation response, a stress-management approach, to other lifestyle interventions may significantly improve treatment of the type of hypertension most common in the elderly. Among participants in a study conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Hypertension Program and the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine at MGH, those who received relaxation response training in addition to advice on reducing lifestyle risk factors were more than twice as likely to successfully eliminate at least one blood pressure medication than were those receiving lifestyle counseling only. The study appears in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.