The intersection of mindfulness training and cardiovascular health - what does the research say?

I realize I have written about this topic before, but after just attending a webinar with Dr. Eric Loucks, the director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University. here we go again! Dr. Loucks' field of research is the intersection or interrelatedness of mindfulness training and cardiovascular disease as measured by blood pressure. According to Dr. Loucks, the connection of cardiovascular health and mindfulness emerged early on in the budding field of mindfulness research. Based on a personal interest in cardiovascular health, Dr. Loucks subsequently developed a mindfulness program modeled on MBSR but with a particular focus on lowering blood pressure, Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP).

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The ripple effects of mindfulness training

tudies on MB-BP have shown that participants' systolic pressure dropped by 6 points on average, a clinically significant amount. Long-term follow-ups have shown that this reduction holds up six months and even up to two years after the program ended. Similarly, the Cardiovascular Health Score, which uses a variety of measurements, was significantly improved in MB-BP participants compared to a control group.

This makes sense if you consider that chronic stress is one of the determinants of high blood pressure, along with genetics, diet, and exercise. Stress triggers a cascade of physical changes, including the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin, which in turn increase blood pressure, respiration and heart rates etc. This is great if we're running away from a tiger, but not so good if we're just sitting in traffic or living in circumstances where this kind of stress reaction becomes chronic.

With Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and other mindfulness interventions being all about, well, stress reduction, it's not surprising that lowering blood pressure is one of the side effects, as it were!

If you already have high BP and need to focus on lowering it, MB-BP is an excellent option. If you're thinking of mindfulness as more of a preventative measure, a way to self-regulate better with the added benefit of improved physical health, then any kind of mindfulness training will fit the bill!