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

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."

BBC World News: Using the Transcendental Meditation technique to alleviate ADHD

A new study suggests that the Transcendental Meditation technique could help improve brain functioning and reduce stress in students.

Fifty students took part in the trial at the American University, in Washington, DC. After ten weeks of meditation the students scored higher on performance tests, reported feeling more alert and said they coped better in difficult situations.

Josh Goulding, featured in this video, participated in the study and claims it has helped to get him off a cocktail of drugs he was taking to control Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Click here to go to BBC video


Visit the Website ADHD, the Mind, and Transcendental Meditation

ADHD: Medicate or Meditate? ...new research: an effective alternative

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.