Exploring Mindfulness Meditation in Managing Elevated Blood Pressure and Heart Rate in Debilitating Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Han-Jie Liu, Krish Patel, Zachary Coren, Youssef Daoud, Zeshan Fahim, Shikhar Rastogi, Justin Le, Avinash Gupta
Research Posters May 1, 2025 DOI: 10.31986/issn.2689-0690_rdw.stratford_research_day.162_2025 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Individuals with debilitating cardiovascular disease and elevated blood pressure |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Pooled across 12 studies, mindfulness meditation was associated with reduced systolic blood pressure (d = -0.38), diastolic blood pressure (d = -0.42), and heart rate (d = -0.64) in people with debilitating cardiovascular disease and elevated blood pressure, while control groups showed no significant changes. The authors suggest meditation may help manage blood pressure, possibly via parasympathetic activation and reduced sympathetic drive, but note high heterogeneity and call for further research. |
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US, with elevated blood pressure (BP) significantly contributing to its progression. Mindfulness meditation has emerged as a high-value preventative care strategy for managing BP and heart rate (HR); however, its specific effects on managing BP and HR in individuals with debilitating CVD remain poorly understood. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on HR, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in this population. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we employed a tailored Boolean string to search PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. Twelve articles met our inclusion criteria. Random effects meta-analyses revealed that mindfulness meditation reduced SBP (d = -0.38, p < 0.01), DBP (d = -0.42, p < 0.01), and HR (d = -0.64, p = 0.01) in individuals with debilitating CVD and elevated blood pressure. Control groups showed no significant changes in SBP (d = -0.10, p = 0.10), DBP (d = 0.17, p = 0.27), and HR (d = -0.00, p = 0.95). Heterogeneity across SBP (I2 = 0.55), DBP (I2 = 0.85), and HR (I2 = 0.86) was high, highlighting variability across studies. Overall, our results suggest that mindfulness meditation may help manage BP in individuals with debilitating CVD and elevated BP, potentially by promoting parasympathetic activity and reducing sympathetic drive. Further research is needed to elucidate the physiological mechanisms by which mindfulness meditation influences BP and HR in individuals with CVD and elevated BP.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |