Effects of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation on Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Subjects With Coronary Heart Disease
Archives of Internal Medicine June 12, 2006 Maura Paul‐labrador, Donna M. Polk, James H. Dwyer et al. 282 citations
Transcendental meditation, practiced for 16 weeks, improved blood pressure and insulin resistance in patients with stable coronary heart disease compared with health education alone. Systolic blood pressure fell by 3.4 mm Hg in the meditation group while rising 2.8 mm Hg in controls; insulin resistance decreased by 0.75 units in the meditation group versus an increase of 0.52 units in controls. Heart rate variability, a measure of cardiac autonomic tone, also improved modestly. No effect was seen on endothelial function. The findings suggest that transcendental meditation may help manage coronary heart disease risk by modulating the body's response to stress.