Effect of Slow Breathing on Blood Pressure, Heart Rate and Body Weight in Prehypertensive Subjects of Varying Body Mass Index

"Purpose: Individuals with higher BMI have increased blood pressure and resting heart rate. Slow breathing done at 6 breaths/min increases the baroreflex sensitivity and reduces sympathetic activity suggesting a potentially beneficial effect in hypertension. Method: 45 subjects of different BMI were selected. The subjects performed slow breathing for 4 weeks. Systolic BP, diastolic BP, heart rate and body weight changes from baseline. Data was analysed by using Wilcoxon signed rank test and Kruskal wallis test. Results: BP reductions were seen in normal BMI ( p0.05) subjects. But, body weight was found to be significantly decreased in obese subjects (p0.05) and overweight (p>0.05) subjects. Conclusion: Slow breathing reduced the blood pressure and heart rate of normal BMI and overweight prehypertensive subjects. However, slow breathing is not effective in reducing the blood pressure and heart rate in obese prehypertensive subjects, but it may play a role in weight reduction of obese prehypertensives. "