EFFECT OF BIOFEEDBACK ASSISTED RELAXATION ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND ANXIETY AMONG PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION

Abstract

Hypertension is a highly prevalent non communicable disease in the world which contributes to a significant percentage of death and disability among the population affected The objectives of the study were to identify the effect of biofeedback assisted relaxation therapy BART on blood pressure and anxiety among patients with stage I and II hypertension and to compare the effect of BART with blood pressure and anxiety between patients with stage I and II hypertension Design was randomised controlled trial A total of 666 hypertensive patients were assigned to the experimental and control groups of stage I and II hypertension using block randomisation A 4 week biofeedback assisted abdominal breathing relaxation was employed for the study groups followed by three months follow up The intervention reduced systolic and diastolic BP and state and trait anxiety among hypertensive patients The study found a significant positive correlation between the home relaxation and the parameters of blood pressure and anxiety newline