Device-guided slow breathing reduces blood pressure and sympathetic activity in young normotensive individuals of both sexes.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Uncontrolled before-and-after laboratory physiological study in a small cohort.
PubMed 31436511 · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00442.2019
What was done
Researchers evaluated the acute autonomic and cardiovascular effects of a 15-minute device-guided slow breathing session (using the RESPeRATE device) in 22 young, healthy normotensive individuals (10 females, age 22 ± 2 years; 12 males, age 23 ± 3 years). Blood pressure, muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst incidence, and spontaneous cardiovagal and vascular sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity were recorded at baseline and during the final 5 minutes of the breathing session to evaluate sex-specific differences.
What was found
Slow breathing reduced systolic blood pressure by 3.2 ± 0.8 mmHg (P < 0.01) overall. Females had lower overall systolic blood pressure than males (P = 0.02), but there was no sex-by-breathing interaction. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst incidence decreased by 5.0 ± 1.4 bursts/100 heartbeats (P < 0.01), with no interaction by sex. Cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity increased from 21.0 to 36.0 ms/mmHg (P = 0.03) with no sex differences.
Why it matters
These findings show that acute device-guided slow breathing lowers blood pressure and sympathetic activity in healthy young adults regardless of sex, showing that lower baseline blood pressure in females does not prevent a blood pressure-lowering response.
Limits
The sample size was very small (n = 22). The study examined only acute, short-term responses during a single 15-minute session without evaluating sustained long-term effects. The trial lacked a sham or spontaneous breathing control group and evaluated only young, healthy, normotensive participants.
Cited by
- supports Research shows slow breathing can significantly reduce blood pressure in a very short period of time.