Slow breathing exercises for lowering blood pressure

This post will be about something I just discovered by researching an ad I saw today. I saw an ad for what seemed like a really overpriced device that was claimed to be a non-medicinal way to lower blood pressure. The claims made, as is typical with such products, were dramatic. But in this case it did seem like they had some legitimate medical studies to back up some of their claims about the device. So I decided to look into the matter a little further. As usual, before I can present the information I found, I'll have to provide some background that's important to my interest in the product I've mentioned.

As an aside and before going into greater depth on my findings, I have blogged previously about how one of the key factors precipitating my current fitness endeavors was high blood pressure. Though I was not particularly inactive, was not overweight, nor did I fit any of the other typical profiles for those prone to high blood pressure or hypertnesion, my blood pressure was definitely well out of the normal range. And this was certainly having its negative effects--most notably it would keep me from sleeping on occassion due to a nasty headache that could only be relieved by assuming an upright (non-prone) position.

Things reached a point where something definitely needed to be done. The initial course of action, in consultation with my physician, was to begin taking a prescription medication (hydrochlorothiazide [HZ hereafter], a diuretic), which brought some immediate relief. But I wanted a longer-term solution that was non-medicinal, if possible. So I decided to get more regular about exercise--hence the current blog.

I should mention here that, from the time I started taking this medication I began experimenting with reducing dosage--from a full 25 mg tablet per day to half a tablet. I seemed to get the same desirable effect from a half tablet as I did from a full one but on my doctor's advice (he was far from being any kind of athlete, by the way) I decided to take a full tablet each day.

The exercise did, indeed, seem to have an effect on blood pressure readings. During the first year on HZ I found that, when I did really strenuous aerobic exercise like hard bicycle riding lasting an hour or more, I would get very light-headed and feel as though I might pass out--and could even have some distorted vision. I suspected that the HZ might be the culprit, and that it might be making my blood pressure too low. So I decided to measure my blood pressure after some of these hard rides to see if it was, in fact, too low.

Sure enough, at those times when I measured blood pressure after a strenuous ride my blood pressure was dangerously low--like in the 89 over 56 range. So I decided to experiment with decreasing HZ intake.

At first, I went back to the half tablet dosage. Despite the lowered dosage, the light-headedness and other symptoms associated with HZ intake and strenuous exercise persisted.

I next decided to try not taking any HZ at all on days when we would go for bike rides. That helped, and the light-headedness I had been feeling essentially went away. Since my blood pressure seemed much closer to normal, i.e., a little below hypertension range, even without taking the HZ a few days per week, I decided to experiment further by ceasing to take it altogether. Thus, during much of the 2008 cycling season (roughly June through August of '08) I did not take any HZ and my blood pressure nonetheless mostly stayed below the hypertnesion range (blood pressure seemed to vary from about 125-136 over 72-87).

After the cycling season that year I began to experience some of the symptoms I previously had (occassional headaches exacerbated by being in the prone position) and that I associated with elevated blood pressure, so I once again resumed taking the HZ. Then, the 2009 cycling season rolled around.

On some early rides during that season I forgot to forego the HZ dose and felt the same negative effects I had felt the previous season (light-headedness, feeling faint, some distortions of vision). At first I tried what I had done the previous season, viz., not taking the medication at all on days when we planned to ride. During the 2009 season I found, however, that even though I did not take any HZ the day of a ride, I would nonetheless have the negative symptoms I associated with the medication when it's combined with strenuous exercise. I once again decided to cease taking the HZ altogether.

That brings me pretty much to the current post. I have been off HZ for the most part since about April of 2009. I have had a couple of the headache episodes, particularly over recent weeks when we took a break from or had cut way down on our exercise regime, since that time. I even decided about a month ago that I would probably need to start taking HZ regularly again over this winter, and resumed taking a daily dosage.

I reversed that decision, however, when--having taken HZ that day--during one of our strength training sessions two or three weeks ago, I again experienced the light-headedness that usually results from combining HZ with strenuous exercise. I should mention a couple of details in this regard: first, I do not recall previously experiencing light-headedness in connection with our strength training--despite having taken HZ on the day on which I was doing said training; second our strength training regime is pretty strenuous (even somewhat aerobic), though it lasts usually only about 40 minutes.

My current hypothesis is that my body has become more acclimated to regular exercise and correspondingly more sensitive to the HZ: therefore, I should not use HZ with any regularity, instead taking a dose only in limited circumstances--such as when what seems to me a blood-pressure-related headache occurs.

So, the last time I took any HZ was probably 2 or 3 weeks ago. And I feel fine for the most part. I measured my blood pressure yesterday and, though it could be better, it was still below the hypertension range (it was 138/84).

Cut, finally, to today's blog entry: the aforementioned non-medicinal means of lowering blood pressure--which I actually started today. While browsing some news today, I ran across an item which, given what I've said above, piqued my interest: a device that claimed to lower, non-medicinally, blood pressure. I wanted to investigate.

They're fairly forthcoming with information about this device on their web site, and they give a good basic overview of how it works. It simply teaches you to slow your breathing by measuring your current breathing rate, then gradually lowering it by having you breathe in unison with certain sounds, to a particular level for a set interval.

Sounds simple enough, and it does seem widely accepted in the medical community that exercises that lower the breathing rate for a time do affect blood pressure. But should such a device, about the size of a CD player, really cost around $300? Couldn't the enterprising individual (aka yours truly) approximate closely enough what the device is doing using items already at hand?

Turns out the enterprising individual can do this. I've just proved that to myself and also proved, gauging by the effects I felt afterward, that this sort of exercise does help.

I should mention to start with that I learned a fair amount about the product, what it does, and what are the more cost-effective alternatives, by reading reviews of the device at amazon (see those reviews here). A great deal more information can be found by googling, as, for example, these results will indicate.

From what I'd read, the positive effects on blood pressure offered by this device could be gotten simply by lowering your breathing rate to something like 4.5 to 6 breaths per minute (BrPM hereafter so as to distinguish this from beats per minute [BPM], and acronym I've used previously in this blog) for a period of 10-15 minutes per day. One of the key breathing tactics for these "exercises" that is stressed on sites I found is that breathing out (exhalation) should take about twice as long as breathing in (inhalation). It is also said that listening to calming music while doing the exercise is helpful--which, of course, makes sense

In any case I decided if I've got a wristwatch with a second counter (or a second hand), I can do this right here and now. So I tried it, pretty much right on the spot.

Well, I found out first of all that I apparently don't need any device to help me lower my breathing rate. During the first minute, without any special strain or discomfort, I breathed 4.5 times--which seems to be about the lowest BrPM rate that is recommended for people using this technique. I simply relaxed, breathed slowly and deeply, and counted breaths using my fingers, over a 15 minute period. By the end of that 15 minute period, my average minutely rate worked out to about 3.8 BrPM (57 breaths in 15 minutes).

On finishing this exercise I felt great. I felt relaxed and rested--like some inner tension had been released. I haven't measured my blood pressure yet but I'm eager to see whether there has been any effect yet. I'll probably walk over to a nearby pharmacy later today and check my blood pressure just to see.

Anyway, even if regular use of this exercise doesn't lower my blood pressure significantly I think I'll work it into my daily routine. From what I've seen so far it's a great way to relax. I definitely need that--not only from time to time when I feel stressed, but every day before bed. Seems like it could really help with some sleep issues I've been having.

So my plan at this point is to do this exercise daily for 15 minutes right before bedtime. I will also use it in selective circumstances when I'm under stress--like before and/or after a lecture I'm delivering, when I get angry or upset about something, or when I'm feeling generally stressed or anxious. I'm very eager to see what will be the effects and will definitely be posting about them in the future.