Vet Candy: Mindfulness with paced breathing and lowering blood pressure

According to the American Stroke Association (ASA) and the American Heart Association (AHA), more than 100 million Americans have high blood pressure. Elevated blood pressure is a major avoidable cause of premature morbidity and mortality in the United States and worldwide due primarily to increased risks of stroke and heart attacks. Elevated blood pressure is the most important major and modifiable risk factor to reduce stroke. In fact, small but sustained reductions in blood pressure reduce risks of stroke and heart attacks. Therapeutic lifestyle changes of weight loss and salt reduction as well as adjunctive drug therapies are beneficial to treat and prevent high blood pressure. 

Mindfulness is increasingly practiced as a technique to reduce stress through mind and body interactions. In some instances, mindfulness includes paced breathing defined as deep and diaphragmatic with slow rates typically about five to seven per minute compared with the usual rate of 12 to 14. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine and collaborators have published a paper in the journal Medical Hypotheses, exploring the possibility that mindfulness with paced breathing reduces blood pressure.

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