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Mind-body therapies intervention for essential hypertension: network meta-analysis based on the antihypertensive

Haojun Cui1, Wanru Guo1, Hongfei Zhao2

  • 1Shanghai University of Sport of Martial Arts Academy, Shanghai, China.

Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
|March 13, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Bhramari Pranayama and Specific Qigong show promise for reducing systolic blood pressure in essential hypertension. Sound Relax Meditation also aids diastolic blood pressure reduction, suggesting mind-body therapies can effectively manage hypertension.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Integrative and Complementary Medicine
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Essential hypertension (EH) is a primary risk factor for severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
  • EH accounts for approximately 90% of all hypertension cases, necessitating effective management strategies.
  • Mind-body therapies (MBTs) are increasingly explored for their potential to lower blood pressure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantitatively synthesize evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on MBTs for essential hypertension.
  • To compare and rank the efficacy of various MBTs in reducing systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
  • To provide evidence-based guidance for selecting effective MBT interventions for EH management.

Main Methods:

  • A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple biomedical databases for English-language RCTs.
  • Frequentist network meta-analysis (NMA) was employed using STATA 18.0 to analyze data from 15 RCTs (949 participants).
  • The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool assessed study quality, and network consistency/robustness were evaluated.

Main Results:

  • Bhramari Pranayama (BP) and Specific Qigong (SQ) ranked highest for reducing systolic blood pressure (SBP).
  • Sound Relax Meditation (SRM), SQ, and BP showed favorable rankings for diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reduction.
  • While most MBTs showed a blood pressure-lowering effect, rankings indicate relative probabilities of effectiveness.

Conclusions:

  • Bhramari Pranayama and Specific Qigong demonstrated superior relative effects on SBP in EH patients.
  • Sound Relax Meditation, Specific Qigong, and Bhramari Pranayama were comparatively effective for DBP reduction.
  • Further large-scale RCTs are recommended to confirm these findings due to limited sample sizes.
Abstract

Keywords:
diastolic blood pressureessential hypertensionmind-body therapies interventionnetwork meta-analysisrandomized controlled trialsystolic blood ressure

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