Published online May 26, 2014. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v6.i5.277
Revised: February 14, 2014
Accepted: April 17, 2014
Published online: May 26, 2014
Processing time: 209 Days and 21.2 Hours
The American Heart Association considers device-guided breathing as a reasonable treatment modality in their statement on non-pharmacological options for lowering blood pressure. This review discusses all randomized controlled trials that have investigated the effects of device-guided breathing on blood pressure in patients with hypertension. Thirteen studies were included in this review. In total, 627 patients were included, of which 365 patients were allocated to device-guided breathing. Only 6 studies used acceptable control groups: listening to music, meditative relaxation exercises, or a sham-device. Two sponsored trials showed beneficial effects of device-guided breathing, both used listening to music as a control group. The remaining 4 studies, which had no employees of the manufacturer listed as co-author, observed no beneficial effects on blood pressure. There is only 1 study that used a sham device as a control group. All other studies were to some extend methodologically flawed. Based on the studies with an acceptable methodological quality, there is no clear evidence supporting a short-term beneficial effect on blood pressure by using device-guided breathing.
Core tip: This review discusses all randomized controlled trials that have investigated the effects of device-guided breathing on blood pressure. There were 6 studies with an acceptable control group. Two (manufacturer sponsored) trials showed beneficial effects of device-guided breathing, both used listening to music as a control group. The remaining 4 studies observed no beneficial effects. We conclude that there is no sufficient evidence for recommending device-guided breathing in the treatment of hypertension.