Effect of Yoga Intervention in the Management of Hypertension: A Preventive Trial

BACKGROUND: Noncommunicable diseases are on the rise in India. Hypertension is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and also labeled as a chronic lifestyle disorder. Hence, non-pharmacological interventions leading to lifestyle modifications are of utmost importance to control and prevent hypertension. This trial aims to implement yoga intervention to the experimental group in addition to medicines, advice on diet and physical activity and to compare blood pressure and perceived stress scores with the control group. METHODS: It was an open-label, two-armed, non-randomized controlled trial, conducted at a tertiary care center on 145 patients with hypertension: 73 in the intervention group and 72 in the control group. The intervention group received yoga intervention for a period of 4 months on a weekly basis along with advice on physical activity, diet, and routine medicines. The control group did not receive yoga intervention. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 51.3 ± 9.4, females (58.2%) outnumbered males (41.3%). Following the intervention, perceived stress score and blood pressure showed a significant reduction between two groups (P < 0.001). Also, perceived stress and blood pressure were found to be reduced significantly within both groups (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Yoga proves to be an effective, safe, and less expensive adjunct therapy for hypertension management. Yoga was also found to be effective in reducing the level of stress. Diet modification and physical activity have got an important role to play in the control and prevention of hypertension.