Approximately 60% of American adult population has prehypertension or hypertension. Subgroups such as African Americans, elderly, low-socioeconomic-status, and the overweight population, are disproportionately affected. Larkin Community Hospital (LCH) and its affiliated sites provide a great number of patients in these particular subgroups and this represents an ideal institution to study this tremendous health issue. Hypertension is a progressive disease and it has been shown·that, later in life, patients with borderline hypertension will progress at a much higher rate to Stage 1 or 2 hypertension as compared with normotensive population. The Framingham study has been demonstrated after 26 years of follow up, that 71% of patients with high-normal blood pressure (systolic, 130-139 mm Hg; diastolic, 85-89) developed clinical hypertension later in life. The Tecumseh blood pressure study has shown that subjects aged between 20 and 40 years old with borderline hypertension (average BP 130.7/93.8) have had significantly higher childhood (average age 6 years) BP levels compared with normotensive ones, further illustrating the propensity of this disease to progress. Also, the bell-shaped curve of blood pressure in the general population shows that the largest group of people will have blood pressures in the prehypertensive range, showing what a large proportion of the population would be affected by advances in the management of this disease.

Osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT) is a therapeutic modality utilized by osteopathic physicians to address somatic dysfunctions in the musculoskeletal system. Somatic dysfunctions are abnormalities in musculoskeletal tissue texture and intervertebral joint dysfunction. Close associations between spinal vertebrae and the autonomic nervous system via the sympathetic trunk and ganglia are believed to be one of the mechanisms by which musculoskeletal system changes can affect other organs (somatovisceral reflex). Indeed, osteopathic philosophy posits that OMT has a distinct effect beyond the musculoskeletal system. Additionally, the autonomic and lymphatic systems and their effects upon the function of the cardiovascular system have been extensively studied. OMT has been shown by Stiles to significantly decrease both mortality and morbidity of patients with cardiovascular dysfunctions. Rogers et al. have also reported that OMT has been demonstrated to be of significant value in some patients with coronary insufficiency.

The bulk of the sympathetic nervous system lies adjacent to the thoracic spine as well as the superior lumbar spine. Particularly, the sympathetic innervation of the heart has its origins in cord segments T1-T6, with synapses occurring between pre-and post-ganglionic fibers in the upper thoracic and/or cervical ganglia. As previously discussed, alterations in the spinal mechanics and the presence of somatic dysfunctions in these regions of the spine have been theorized to alter the function of the autonomic nervous system originating from these regions. Specific cardiovascular effects of these dysfunctions are increased heart rate, increased contractility, increased cardiac work-load, and increased total peripheral resistance. To provide further evidence of the link between the musculoskeletal system and the cardiovascular system, it was demonstrated that patients with Travell triggerpoints in the right pectoralis muscle may be prone to periods of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. When these trigger points are the etiologies of the arrhythmias, the arrhythmia disappears when the trigger point is effectively treated.

The goal of this study is to demonstrate the use of OMT in the effective management of hypertension. The investigators hypothesize that by addressing/correcting somatic dysfunctions with OMT, it will downregulate the sympathetic overdrive that could be the root cause of the elevation in blood pressure. If this is the case, then an effective therapy for hypertension could indeed be regular OMT treatment. This could also result in the avoidance of potentially harmful antihypertensive medications which comprise a majority of the current therapeutic strategy in the treatment of hypertension (along with lifestyle modification). A third implication of the results of this project could be a reduction in the progression of this disease. As discussed above, a majority of hypertensive patients only experience a worsening of the disease over time under the current therapeutic guidelines.