Neurobiology of Stress

Background Transcendental meditation (TM) is a stress reduction technique that can potentially lower blood pressure (BP) safely. The American Heart Association recommends that TM may be considered in clinical practice. Objective To provide an overview of all systematic reviews and meta-analyses of TM on BP for evidence-informed clinical decision making. Method Systematic searches of PubMed, EBSCOhost, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, and PsycINFO for all systematic rev […]

We previously reported reduced blood pressure, psychological symptoms, and other cardiac risk factors in hypertensive patients who participated in a nonpharmacologic, outpatient behavioral program. The present study is a 3 to 5 year follow-up of 59 (60%) of the same patients (who served as their own controls) to assess continued efficacy of the program. At entry into the study, patients had hypertension for a median of 6 years. Therefore, it is unlikely that placebo effect could expla […]

Background: The effect of intercessory prayer (IP) on outcome in cardiac cases has been evaluated previously, but results are controversial. The goals of the Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) are to evaluate the effects of receipt of additional study IP and awareness of receipt of additional study IP on outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. STEP is not designed to determine whether God exists or whether God does or does not […]