Forwarded message from Dr. Venu Gopal M.D. (Ayurved)

[ Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007

Praying For Lower Blood Pressure?

http://sciencedaily.healthology.com/main/article.aspx?content_id=3794&focus_handle=heart-health&par=hgy|newsletter|general-01-30-07|link1

Author: Karen Barrow
http://sciencedaily.healthology.com/main/articlebios.aspx?bio_id=61&content_id=3794&focus_area_id=22&brand_id=1

Medically Reviewed On: September 01, 2006

The next time you bow your head to say a prayer, maybe you
should add a thank you for lower blood pressure.

In the African Americans population, a group particularly
prone to high blood pressure and its affects on the heart
and body, it seems a little faith or spirituality may play
a significant part in lowering blood pressure.

"African Americans have a much higher burden of high blood
pressure than any other group," says Dr. Sharon Wyatt,
study author from the University of Mississippi Medical
Center in Jackson.

In a recent study, Wyatt and colleagues found that those
African Americans who were involved with religious
activities had significantly lower blood pressure than
those who weren't, despite other factors that increase
one's risk of this cardiovascular disease.

"The integration of religion and spirituality -- attending
church and praying -- may buffer individuals exposed to stress
and delay the deleterious effects of high blood pressure,"
says Wyatt.

For the study, researchers used interviews and surveys of
over 5,000 African American men and women to determine both
their degree and type of religious participation. All
levels of spiritual activity were included, from church
attendance to private prayer and from meditation to
actively using religious beliefs to make decisions.

As many as 80 percent reported attending organized
religious activities weekly, and 93 percent participated in
organized religion a few times a month. Additionally, 94
percent of the participants said that they used religion to
help them deal with stressful situations.

Participants were also asked about various factors that may
impact one's blood pressure, including access to health
care, their amount of stress, diet and whether they smoke.
The results of the study were presented at the annual
meeting of the American Society of Hypertension.

Interestingly, the researchers found that those who
participated in religious activities were more likely to be
overweight and to not take prescribed medication regularly.
In spite of these two serious risk factors, however, these
spiritual people also had lower blood pressure than those
who had little or no spiritual activities as part of their
routine.

Why does religion have such a powerful impact on one's
blood pressure?

While no one yet knows for sure, Wyatt suspects that
spiritual actions help lower blood pressure because they
act as a stress reliever. Those in the study who
participated in religious activities had lower blood levels
of cortisol, an indicator of stress. Since stress is a
major cause of high blood pressure, any routine escape from
stress, like attending a church service, sitting silently
during prayer or even interacting with the built-in social
network of religious groups can help you relax, potentially
lowering blood pressure.

Wyatt hopes that further research will elucidate exactly
which aspects of religion and spirituality help to lower
blood pressure, but in the meantime, feels that health care
professionals should acknowledge the role these activities
can play in a person's health.

"These practices can be useful for individuals to
incorporate in to their daily lives," she says.

Dr. Venu Gopal Rao.T
M.D. (Ayu.)

End of forwarded message from Dr. Venu Gopal M.D. (Ayurved)