Transcendental Meditation recommended by American Heart Association

Summary of Policy Statement issued
by the American Heart Association
 

A 2013 report from the American Heart Association provided further evidence that the Transcendental Meditation technique lowers blood pressure, and recommended the TM technique for the prevention and treatment of hypertension.

According to the report, the TM technique is the only meditation practice that has been shown through research to effectively reduce high blood pressure. 

The statement also reported the finding that lower blood pressure through TM practice is associated with substantially reduced rates of death, heart attack and stroke.

The purpose of the report, entitled “Beyond Medications and Diet ­Alternative Approaches to Lowering Blood Pressure: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association,” is to inform physicians which alternative approaches to lowering blood pressure (BP) have been shown by research to be effective. The report, published on April 22, 2013, concluded that the TM technique lowers blood pressure and recommends that the TM technique be considered in clinical practice for the prevention and treatment of hypertension. 

After considering meta-analyses and the latest clinical trials on different types of meditation, the report stated that while the TM technique is recommended to lower BP, there is not enough scientific evidence to recommend other meditation or relaxation techniques.
The AHA’s scientific report states:

“Because of many negative studies or mixed results and a paucity of available trials, all other meditation techniques (including Mindfulness Based Stress Response) received a ‘Class III, no benefit, Level of Evidence C’ recommendation. Thus, other meditation techniques are not recommended in clinical practice to lower BP at this time.”

Meta-analyses referenced in the report found that TM practice lowers blood pressure on average 5 mmHg systolic and 3 mmHg diastolic. Although by some accounts modest, researchers pointed out that for millions of people with high blood pressure, this reduction may help to bring them into a more normal range or prevent the need for hypertension medication with attendant side effects and costs.

“We are gratified that our research demonstrating the efficacy of TM on blood pressure is being recognized and hope that this consensus will result in its wider use in clinical practice,” said C. Noel Bairey Merz, professor of medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and principal investigator for an NIH-sponsored clinical trial on TM and cardiovascular health.
 
The American Heart Association report also recognized that Transcendental Meditation is generally considered safe and without harmful side effects. As an additional advantage, the statement noted that many of the reviewed alternative therapies, such as meditation, may provide a range of health or psychological benefits beyond BP lowering or cardiovascular risk reduction.

The AHA scientific statement concludes that alternative treatments that include the Transcendental Meditation technique are recommended for consideration in treatment plans for all individuals with blood pressure higher than 120/80 mm Hg.

*Brook RD et al., Beyond Medications and Diet: Alternative Approaches to Lowering Blood Pressure. A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association. Hypertension, 61:00, 2013.

Read more: http://www.tm.org/blog/research/american-heart-association-informs-doctors-tm-lowers-blood-pressure/?leadsource=CRM1333

More on the AHRQ report and health research on meditation

The most comprehensive of the "no benefits" reviews is the AHRQ paper (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). Experts in meditation research note that the review is methodologically flawed, laden with errors and grossly amiss in its conclusions.

Faulty research design: Scientists who conduct research on exercise, meditation or other behavioral health modalities have developed rigorous and widely accepted ways to determine effects. As a result of using such established methodologies, much of the research on the Transcendental Meditation technique is considered to be on par with the highest quality pharmaceutical research. However, if the research criteria used by this review, such as the double-blind experiment, were used for all scientific studies, there would be no acceptable research showing that cigarette smoking is harmful or proper diet and exercise are good for you. (The double blind experiment would require you to study smoking without the smokers knowing that they are smoking cigarettes—which is obviously not possible. Similarly, you cannot do a double-blind study on meditation whereby the subjects would not know whether or not they are meditating or practicing a particular technique.)

Yet, we know that cigarette smoking is bad for one’s health, and that a balanced diet and exercise are good for you, and that meditation does have many beneficial effects. How do we know this? Because scientists have ways other than double blind studies to identify effects.

Questionable conclusions: Based on its faulty approach, the review concluded—using unusually strong language—that all research on meditation is of “poor quality.” One can say “unusually strong language" because the wording used by the review’s authors is nonstandard and in fact rather odd for science journals.

Studies that have the most rigorous designs are often the largest (i.e., have the highest number of subjects and control groups, are conducted over longer time periods, etc.). They are also exceedingly expensive—typically costing several million dollars for a single research project.

Smaller studies (which are more common) can still employ rigorous clinical controls. They have their place and play a significant role in the scientific literature. Smaller studies point the way to further research, or, in combination with other studies, can strongly suggest an effect or benefit. Usually the researchers themselves will explicitly acknowledge the limitations of a study’s design and the limited conclusions that can be drawn from a single study. And that is the language that is typically used: “only limited conclusions can be drawn” or “further research is needed.”

But the ARHQ reviewers instead chose to characterize such studies as poor: “Scientific research on meditation practices does not appear to have a common theoretical perspective and is characterized by poor methodological quality.”

Quite a number of the studies so described were published in major medical journals, which generally would not be said to publish “poor research.” In fact, there have been over 350 research studies on the TM technique published in peer-reviewed science and medical journals (studies that were conducted at 250 independent research institutes and medical schools worldwide). The National Institutes of Health has awarded $26 million for scientists to further the body of research on the TM technique. NIH grants are intensely competitive and given only for studies that meet high standards of research. The NIH reviewers are no fools; they would not continue to grant millions of dollars over a 20-year period for research on the TM technique unless there was a precedence of promising findings based on quality research. Independent, peer-reviewed journals and their editors and peer-reviewers would not risk their reputations and continue to publish research on the TM technique if all previous research in the field was known to be “poor.”

Criticism of AHRQ: A number of meditation researchers have said that due to its methodological errors, the review's conclusions are invalid. One of the paper’s reviewers, Professor Harald Walach of the University of Northampton and School of Social Sciences and the Samueli Institute for Information Biology in England, strongly urged the authors to withhold publication. “When I looked carefully into the details of the study, the whole analytical strategy looked rather haphazard and ad hoc,” Walach said.

Other researchers have criticized the study as well: http://www.mum.edu/pdf/inmp_pressrelease.pdf

Top researchers criticize new meditation and health study: http://www.physorg.com/news104501710.html

Meditation researcher David Orme-Johnson on the AHRQ report: http://www.TruthAboutTM.org/truth/TMResearch/RebuttalofAHRQReview/index.cfm

Theoretical perspective: Moreover, experts in the various, long-standing traditions of meditation would flatly deny the review’s reference to meditation practices lacking a “theoretical perspective.” In the case of the Transcendental Meditation program, there has been 50 years of theoretical development aimed at providing a scientific understanding of the mechanism of the TM technique and integrating technique’s theoretical framework into modern science—especially with regards to quantum field theory. The TM program has its basis in a tradition of theoretical analysis that, according to scholars, is at least 10,000 years old.

Back to Myths

VIDEO: Dr. Mehmet Oz: Transcendental Meditation for Reducing Stress and Promoting Heart Health

VIDEO: Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks about the Transcendental Meditation program's health benefits: "This meditation can help a lot of people. It is important to understand exactly how it effects stress—which of course impacts our physiology— and in particular how TM reduces stress and stress-related disorders."

Myth #4: There’s no solid scientific evidence showing meditation works

After fifty years of scientific investigation of the Transcendental Meditation technique, more than 800 scientific papers, research studies and reviews have substantiated holistic, beneficial effects for mind, body, behavior and society. These research studies were conducted at over 250 independent universities and research institutions in 33 countries — including independent research at leading medical schools such as Harvard, Stanford, Yale and UCLA.

Hundreds of these research studies have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, including the journals of the American Medical Association and American Heart Association, along with The International Journal of Neuroscience, American Journal of Physiology, Science and many others.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has granted $26 million over the past 20 years for scientists to study the impact of the Transcendental Meditation program for the prevention and treatment of heart disease, hypertension and stroke. Competition for government research grants is considerable, and only the more promising fields of research continue to receive substantial funding year after year, over decades. It is precisely because there is a precedence of high-quality scientific research behind the Transcendental Meditation technique, conducted by reputable scientists around the world, that government research funding continues. 

American Heart Association: A research study from the American Heart Association confirms that the Transcendental Meditation technique lowers blood pressure, and recommends the TM technique for the prevention and treatment of hypertension. Report from the AHA's journal Hypertension: "All other meditation techniques (including mindfulness) received a 'no benefit level of evidence.’ Thus, other meditation techniques are not recommended.”

Randomized controlled trials: There have been 50 randomized controlled (or clinical) trials on the Transcendental Meditation technique — showing significant positive effects on intelligence, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and other areas.

Meta-analyses: Numerous meta-analyses, which examined 597 separate studies on a variety of meditation, relaxation and wellness practices, have found the Transcendental Meditation technique to be the most effective mind-body practice for producing deep physiological relaxation, reducing trait anxiety, lowering high blood pressure, decreasing cigarette, alcohol and drug use, improving psychological health, and increasing self-actualization. Meta-analysis is a qualitative procedure used by scientists to draw definitive conclusions from large bodies of research studies.

Support of medical doctors: The American Medical Association, which represents 140,000 medical doctors, has published and promoted research showing that the TM technique improves high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.

"Transcendental Meditation is Good Science"—Pamela Peeke, M.D., National Institutes of Health; Doctor for the Discovery Channel:

 


Scientific research on the Transcendental Meditation program—National Institutes of Health Senior Researcher Norman Rosenthal, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School:

Myth #1: Meditation is difficult and it takes a long time to get results.

Myth #2: Meditation and relaxation practices are basically all the same and produce the same effects.

Myth #3: Simple relaxation will give the same benefits as TM.

Myth #4: There’s no solid scientific evidence showing meditation really works.

Myth #5: The research studies were conducted only by “TM scientists” and are not impartial scientific studies.

Myth #6: Independent scientific reviews show that Transcendental Meditation practice produces no significant health benefits. (On the AHRQ report.)

Myth #7: Yikes! It's a cult!

Myth #8: TM began as a religion, then became scientific to reach more people.

Myth #9: Meditation can have bad side effects and make you crazy!

Myth #10: The Transcendental Meditation organization is a moneymaking $3.5 billion empire.

Myth #11: When learning Transcendental Meditation you undergo a religious ceremony.

Myth #12: Transcendental Meditation is a form of Hinduism

Back to Myths

NBC News: The TM program for High Blood Pressure

This NBC News report from Washington, DC, aired on January 8th, 2009. It describes a study on the TM technique and Blood Pressure currently underway at Howard University Hospital, and includes some inspiring interviews with meditating participants. CLICK TO WATCH

Transcendental Meditation found to reduce high blood pressure: New study

by Gary Kaplan, MD, PhD

New York University School of Medicine

A new scientific research study conducted at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine provides further evidence that people with high blood pressure can find relief through meditation—but the study also found that not all forms of meditation are equally effective. The study compared findings from research on several well-known types of meditation and relaxation practices, and found that the only mind/body practice that produces significant changes in blood pressure is the Transcendental Meditation technique.

According to a definitive new meta-analysis of 107 previous studies on stress reduction programs and high blood pressure, published in the American Journal of Hypertension (Vol. 21, 3: 310-316), the Transcendental Meditation technique was found to produce a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure—an effect not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress management.

Significant Reductions in Blood Pressure

The new meta-analysis reviewed randomized, controlled trials published in peer-reviewed scientific journals over the past decades concerning stress reduction and relaxation methods used by participants with high blood pressure. Blood pressure changes through the Transcendental Meditation technique included average reductions of 5.0 points of systolic and 2.8 points of diastolic blood pressure, changes which were statistically significant, according to the review. These changes associated with Transcendental Meditation practice were consistent with other controlled studies showing reductions in cardiovascular risk factors, improved markers of heart disease, and reduced mortality rates among participants in the Transcendental Meditation program.

“Equal to adding a second hypertensive agent”

"The magnitude of the changes in blood pressure with the Transcendental Meditation technique are at least as great as the changes found with major changes in diet or exercise that doctors often recommend," said Dr. James Anderson, principal author of the study. "Yet the Transcendental Meditation technique does not require changes in lifestyle. Thus many patients with mild hypertension or prehypertension may be able to avoid the need to take blood pressure medications—all of which have adverse side effects. Individuals with more severe forms of hypertension may be able to reduce the number or dosages of their BP medications under the guidance of their doctor.”

Dr. Anderson stated further: “Adding Transcendental Meditation is about equivalent to adding a second hypertensive agent to one's current regiment, only safer and less troublesome.”

Reduced Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

Anderson added that long-term changes in blood pressure of this magnitude are associated with at least a 15 percent reduction in rates of heart attack and stroke. "This is important to everyone because cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide," Anderson said. The study's biostatistician, Maxwell Rainforth, assistant professor of Physiology and Health Statistics at Maharishi University of Management, said the meta-analysis used state-of-the-art statistical methods to review 107 published studies in the field of stress reduction, relaxation and blood pressure. "The twenty-three separate studies included in the final analysis met well-known criteria for high scientific quality. That is, these studies used repeated blood pressure measurements and participants were randomized to either a stress reduction technique or placebo-type control for at least eight weeks. The data we used are all published in peer-reviewed scientific journals," Rainforth said.

Side Benefits of TM vs. side effects of drugs

According to Dr. Robert Schneider, director of the Institute of Natural Medicine and Prevention and co-author, this rigorously conducted meta-analysis indicates that the Transcendental Meditation technique is distinctively effective compared to other scientifically studied techniques in lowering high blood pressure. "For those 100 million Americans with elevated blood pressure, here is a scientifically documented, yet simple and easy way to lower blood pressure without drugs and harmful side effects. In addition, related studies show an integrated set of positive 'side benefits,' such as reduced stress, reduced heart disease levels and longer lifespan with this technique to restore balance in the cardiovascular system, mind and body," Schneider said.

Overturns a previous study on meditation

The new meta-analysis was co-authored by researchers at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, in Louisville, and at the NIH-funded Institute of Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management in Iowa.

According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure.

The new meta-analysis identified all high quality meditation studies published through 2006 and rigorously analyzed their results, which the previous government report failed to do. Anderson said the new meta-analysis includes only high quality studies on all available stress reduction interventions. The studies on the Transcendental Meditation technique were conducted at five independent universities and medical institutions, and the majority of them were funded by competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Gary P. Kaplan, M.D., Ph.D., is a neurologist and associate professor of clinical neurology at New York University School of Medicine.