Abstract
Mindfulness meditation (MM) is a stress-reduction technique that may have real biological effects on hemodynamics, but has never previously been tested in chronic kidney disease (CKD). In addition, the mechanisms underlying the potential BP-lowering effects of MM are unknown. We sought to determine if MM acutely lowers BP in CKD patients, and if these hemodynamic changes are mediated by a reduction in sympathetic nerve activity. In 15 hypertensive African-American (AA) males with CKD, we conducted a randomized, crossover study in which participants underwent 14 minutes of MM, or 14 minutes of BP education (control intervention) during 2 separate random-order study visits. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), beat-to-beat arterial BP, heart rate (HR), and respiratory rate (RR) were continuously measured at baseline, and during each intervention. A subset had a third study visit to undergo controlled breathing (CB), to determine if a reduction in RR alone was sufficient in exacting hemodynamic changes. We observed a significantly greater reduction in systolic BP, diastolic BP, mean arterial pressure, HR, as well as MSNA, during MM compared to the control intervention. Participants had a significantly lower RR during MM; however, in contrast to MM, CB alone did not reduce BP, HR, or MSNA. MM acutely lowers BP and HR in AA males with hypertensive CKD, and these hemodynamic effects may be mediated by a reduction in sympathetic nerve activity. RR is significantly lower during MM, but CB alone without concomitant meditation does not acutely alter hemodynamics or sympathetic activity in CKD.
Copyright © 2013, American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.
KEYWORDS:
chronic renal insufficiency, mindfulness, muscle sympathetic nerve activity
PMID: 24829497
