Clinical trial NCT01302535: The Impact of Yoga on Blood Pressure and Quality of Life in Patients With Hypertension
Official title: The Impact of Yoga on Blood Pressure and Quality of Life in Patients With Hypertension - a Randomised Controlled Trial in Primary Health Care
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Hypertension
Keywords: Yoga
Hypertension
Quality of Life
Primary Health Care
Lead sponsor: Region Skane
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: The Swedish Research Council
First posted: 2011-02-24
Enrollment: 83
Sex: ALL
Maximum age (years): 80
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of yoga on blood pressure and quality of life in patients in primary health care diagnosed with hypertension within the last year. Another purpose is to examine whether the possible effect on blood pressure differs if patients practice yoga in a group lead by a yoga-trainer or receive a few yoga-exercises from their doctor to be practiced individually at home.

Detailed description: Hypertension is one of the most common diseases in the industrialized world. In Sweden alone approximately 1.8 million persons, 25% of the adult population, have hypertension. Hypertension is a common diagnosis in primary health care and the costs of investigating and treating hypertension and its consequences are considerable. We know that stress can affect blood pressure, but it is hard to measure and control.

Previous studies have separately shown that yoga can reduce levels of cortisol in saliva and lower blood pressure. However, few studies have investigated the effects of yoga on hypertension and we lack information about the possibility of using yoga in primary health care to reduce hypertension.

If yoga can be used to complement antihypertensive medicines, it could reduce medicine intake and thereby possibly reduce side effects and lower medicine costs. It is to be hoped that patients will also experience a higher quality of life if they perform yoga on a regular basis.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosed with hypertension since at least one year.
* Blood pressure 120/80-160/100 mmHg at the last blood pressure control by doctor or nurse.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Blood pressure \>180 systolic and/or \>110 diastolic by the initial control in the study.
* Blood pressure \<120 systolic by the initial control in the study.
* Medical adjustments regarding hypertension within 4 weeks prior to begin of study.
* Expected inability to understand instructions about yoga exercises (e.g dementia and mental retardation) or physical or psychical inability to carry out yoga exercises (e.g severe physical or psychical handicap).
* Need for interpreter. Linguistic/language difficulties
* Older than 80 years

Primary outcomes:
measure: Hypertension
timeFrame: 12 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Quality of life
timeFrame: 12 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Malmö
country: Sweden
facility: Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lunds University
Study officials:
affiliation: Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lunds University
name: Moa Wolff, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Wolff M, Memon AA, Chalmers JP, Sundquist K, Midlov P. Yoga's effect on inflammatory biomarkers and metabolic risk factors in a high risk population - a controlled trial in primary care. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2015 Aug 19;15:91. doi: 10.1186/s12872-015-0086-1.
citation: Wolff M, Sundquist K, Larsson Lonn S, Midlov P. Impact of yoga on blood pressure and quality of life in patients with hypertension - a controlled trial in primary care, matched for systolic blood pressure. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2013 Dec 7;13:111. doi: 10.1186/1471-2261-13-111.