Yoga as an Alternative and Complementary Treatment for Hypertensive Patients

Abstract

Hypertension is a worldwide public health concern. It is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Pharmacological therapy is the most popular method to control hypertension, but yoga has been identified as a promising alternative and complementary therapy to costly drugs. A systematic review is presented below to determine the efficacy of yoga. The criteria for study to be included were as follows: ( a) published in the English language, ( b) between January 1972 and March 2012, ( c) included any form of yoga as an intervention (with or without pharmacological therapy), ( d) used any quantitative study design, and ( e) measured blood pressure as an outcome. A total of 19 studies met these criteria. Of the 19 studies systematically analyzed, 12 demonstrated a significant change in blood pressure using yoga as part of the intervention. Limitations include a lack of theory-based approach, self-reporting errors, and few randomized controlled trials.