| Helping Children With High Blood Pressure |
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As many as 65 million Americans suffer from high blood pressure—a causal factor in cardiovascular disease and premature death. But high blood pressure is no longer an adult disease. Scientists now know adolescence to be a critical period for the development of hypertension and other risk factors for coronary heart disease. And because of a substantial increase in the numbers of overweight children and adolescents, blood pressures are expected to increase as well—a prediction confirmed by a recent publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association that reports a dramatic rise in blood pressure in recent years among youth. The bottom line: The numbers are startling. One in 12 teenagers suffers from high blood pressure, with the percentage skyrocketing to one in five African American teens. Vernon Barnes, Ph.D., is a research scientist at the Georgia Prevention Institute of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, which received $1.5 million from the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on African American teens at risk for high blood pressure. While this research was the first of its kind on adolescents, the nature of the grant—for the study of the TM program and high blood pressure—has had a long precedent. During the past 15 years, the National Institutes of Health has granted over $20 million to study the effects of the TM technique on hypertension in elderly African Americans—findings that were published in the American Heart Association’s Hypertension and Stroke, as well as in the American Journal of Cardiology. Dr. Barnes explains the rationale of his study: “There is considerable research to suggest that stress contributes to hypertension and coronary heart disease. This evidence has led to the increasing use of stress reduction techniques in the prevention and treatment of these illnesses. Based on previous research with the Transcendental Meditation program, which has been shown to significantly lower blood pressure in hypertensive adults, we hypothesized that a similar approach would be fruitful in adolescents. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the impact of the TM program on ambulatory blood pressure—that is, blood pressure measured in the natural setting—in adolescents.” Over the course of the four-year study, more than 5,000 youths were screened on blood pressure at inner-city high schools in Augusta, Georgia. Teens with the highest blood pressures were invited to participate and were randomly assigned to either the TM program or health education groups following baseline testing. TM group participants were given personal TM instruction in the school. They then practiced the TM technique in 15-minute group sessions at school and individually at home for four months. Blood pressure measures were recorded using ambulatory blood pressure monitors that were worn for 24 hours during each testing session. Measures were taken automatically throughout the day and night—at school and at home. The study found that the TM group exhibited significantly greater decreases (about 3.5 mm Hg) in daytime systolic blood pressure compared with little or no change in the control group at the conclusion of the four-month intervention. Importantly, these changes were maintained at the four-month follow-up after formal cessation of the intervention. A similar pattern of findings was observed for diastolic blood pressure. Dr. Barnes says the findings are of particular importance since ambulatory blood pressure monitoring permits assessment of the generalization of treatment effects in real-life situations throughout the day and night. “Decreases in blood pressure observed in the present study have clinical significance,” Dr. Barnes says. “The decreases, if maintained into adulthood, are enough to potentially decrease a child’s long-term risk for heart disease and stroke—the nation’s leading killers. A drop of 1 or 2 points in blood pressure may translate into a 10% decreased risk of developing hypertension as an adult.” Dr. Barnes says his study revealed several additional side benefits. “We found that the TM program conducted in the school setting reduced absenteeism, rule infractions, and suspension rates. We also found that the TM group decreased resting blood pressure as well as blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output reactivity to laboratory-induced stress. The successful implementation of this program in schools may help decrease the likelihood of early onset of hypertension in high-risk youths, particularly African Americans,” Dr. Barnes says. Nick Fitts is a junior at the University of South Carolina at Aiken, where he is studying to be a nurse. He learned the Transcendental Meditation technique four years ago as a high school student in Augusta, Georgia, as a subject in Dr. Barnes’ research study on teens and high blood pressure. The study—and the technique—came along at the right time, Mr. Fitts says. “I was headed in the wrong direction. I had a lot of problems to worry about—my health, my graduation, my family, what my peers thought about me, etc. Transcendental Meditation not only helped me reduce my high blood pressure, but it has also been a major problem solver in my life. The technique calmed me down and settled my mind to give me a better focus—it raised my study habits to a whole new level. In a year and a half, I went from a 3.2 to a 3.7—which is ‘A’ level.” Mr. Fitts says that the Transcendental Meditation program has far more value than just sitting down and closing the eyes for a few minutes. “There is a lot to overcome out there—and who is to say that you can get through a jungle without a guide or map? My high blood pressure, my problems at home, and stress at school were—and are—my jungle. Transcendental Meditation is my guide and my map. It is something I can use to better myself for the rest of my life. I want to be healthy, happy, and successful. I am so close to my goal I can taste it. So my message to other students is: ‘Do you want to join me? Start to meditate now, and I will see you at the finish line!’” Dr. Barnes’s study was published in the April 2004 issue of the American Journal of Hypertension. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |