werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) (06/20/85)
Another clipping:
Muncie, Ind. (UPI) - Researchers thought they might be fibbing at least a
little when they told volunteers in a study of high blood pressure they could
lower their blood pressure just by daily monitoring. It turned out to be the
truth.
A Ball State University study found that people with hypertension who
merely monitored their blood pressure lowered it as much as volunteers in
three groups who practiced meditation, hand and foot warming techniques, and
abdominal breathing.
Jay Zimmerman, a hypertension counseling expert, said that merely taking
and recording of blood pressure apparently served as a biofeedback process
for the test subjects. "By taking their blood pressure regularly, they could
tell during the day when they were most stressed," he said.
--
Craig Werner
!philabs!aecom!werner
"The world is just a straight man for you sometimes"geb@cadre.ARPA (Gordon E. Banks) (06/21/85)
In article <1762@aecom.UUCP> werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) writes: >Another clipping: > > Muncie, Ind. (UPI) - Researchers thought they might be fibbing at least a >little when they told volunteers in a study of high blood pressure they could >lower their blood pressure just by daily monitoring. It turned out to be the >truth. This is certainly correct from my experience. Even having it measured frequently will lower it on average. I think much of this is due to the anxiety generated by having any kind of test performed on oneself which may have unpleasant consequences (being told one has high blood pressure, for example). Many individuals have a pressor response to the cuff, and once they become accustomed to having their BP taken, will lower their pressure by as much as 20 points. This has practical implications, as many of these people are put on antihypertensive medications. Do they need to be on them? Some would say yes, since if they have pressor response to stress, they should be treated. I think most would say no.