May

John Bisognano, M.D., Ph.D, an expert when it comes to hypertension, and Kevin Woolf, M.D., a cardiology fellow at the University of Rochester Medical Center, are featured in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Hypertension. According to URMC  materials distributed to Science Daily, they have conducted the most inclusive review of non-drug interventions for treating hypertension ever done.

Bisognano, professor of Medicine and director of Outpatient Cardiology at the URMC, said: "Right now we're seeing a cultural shift where an increasing number of people want to avoid standard pharmaceuticals….We're also seeing a growing number of patients who require a large number of drugs to control their blood pressure and are looking for something else to help manage it."

Woolf was quoted as saying: "Patients have different backgrounds and different approaches to living their lives…. "This is where the art of medicine comes in; getting to know patients and what they will and will not embrace can help physicians identify different therapies that suit their patients' habits and that will hopefully make a difference for them."

Both researchers say that patients must be careful not to substitute alternative options for medications when they are indicated. But they also recommend lifestyle changes, like the DASH diet, exercise, and weight loss already in sync with American Heart Association recommendations.

Woolf also is interested in the antioxidant Coenzyme Q10, which has been found in previous data analyses to reduce blood pressure significantly, and in potassium. He notes that In patients who already take medication for high blood pressure, acupuncture has been shown to be additionally effective. Meditation and Qi Gong also have been shown to be beneficial. In Western New York, Tai Chi, a form of Qi Gong, is accessible at low cost in classes at community centers, senior centers, and private studios.

The URMC research also mentions mechanical devices that patients can use at home. These require an initial cost of a few hundred dollars and a commitment to use them regularly over time. One of these is RESPeRATE, which helps patients learn to slow their breathing. Another, the ZONA Plus, which involves gripping and squeezing a device according to directions, has been helpful in reducing blood pressure even though the reason has not been pinpointed.

For patients in current research studies, a medically implanted device called Rheos regulates blood pressure, and another called the Symplicity catheter system, are available. These have already been demonstrated to produce significant reduction in blood pressure in clinical trials.

The article can be found at: Kevin J. Woolf and John D. Bisognano. Nondrug Interventions for Treatment of Hypertension. Journal of Clinical Hypertension, September 2011 DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-7176.2011.00524.x

Linda Chalmer Zemel, Buffalo Alternative Medicine Examiner and Buffalo Books Examiner. Originally published on Examiner.com