Limitations of transcendental meditation in the treatment of essential hypertension

20 hypertensive patients participating in a professionally supervised programme of transcendental meditation showed no significant change in blood-pressure after a 6-month study. Although there were small reductions in systolic blood-pressure and in pulse-rate early in the trial, these changes had disappeared by 6 months. At no time did the mean diastolic pressure fall significantly. Plasma-renin activity did not change during the study. It is concluded that while the general feeling of wellbeing experienced by most patients may provide a useful adjunct to conventional treatments, it is unlikely that transcendental meditation contributes directly towards the lowering of blood-pressure.