Impact of Transcendental Meditation® on cardiovascular function at rest and during acute stress in adolescents with high normal blood pressure

Vernon A. Barnes, Frank A. Treiber, Harry Davis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

156 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the impact of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program on cardiovascular (CV) reactivity in adolescents with high normal blood pressure (BP). Method: Thirty-five adolescents [34 African Americans (AAs), 1 Caucasian American (CA); ages 15-18 years] with resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) between the 85th and 95th percentile for their age and gender on three consecutive occassions, were randomly assigned to either TM (n=17) or health education control (CTL, n=18) groups. The TM group engaged in 15-min meditation twice each day for 2 months including sessions during school lunch break. Primary CV outcome measures were changes in BP, heart rate (HR), and cardiac output (CO) at rest and in response to two laboratory stressor, a simulated car driving stressor and an interpersonal social stressor interview. Results: The TM group exhibited greater decreases in resting SBP (P<.03) from pre- to post-intervention, compared to the CTL group. The TM group exhibited greater decreases from pre- to postintervention in SBP, HR, and CO reactivity (P's<.03) to the simulated car driving stressor, and in SBP reactivity (P<.03) to the social stressor interview. Conclusion: The TM program appears to have a beneficial impact upon CV functioning at rest and during acute laboratory stress in adolescents at-risk for hypertension.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)597-605
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Psychosomatic Research
Volume51
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adolescents
  • Blood pressure
  • Cardiovascular reactivity
  • Stress pressure
  • Transcendental Meditation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Impact of Transcendental Meditation® on cardiovascular function at rest and during acute stress in adolescents with high normal blood pressure'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this