Health News from WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C.

It’s been called the “silent killer” because it can damage your body’s organs without any symptoms. Uncontrolled, it can cause a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, vision problems and other critical health problems. One in three Americans is under its grip, according to the National Heart and Lung Institute.

“It’s high blood pressure, and chances are, either you—or someone you know—has it.”

Diet, exercise and medication are tools that can help control high blood pressure, doctors tell us. But new research is now focusing on effective ways to eliminate the stress and tension that can fuel blood pressure in the first place.

So, how do we treat high blood pressure?

Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. is one of a number of U.S. medical centers that have received federal government funding to research the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on reducing stress and treating high blood pressure.

This WUSA-TV news report on Howard University’s current research initiative tells the story.

You can see the 2 minute WUSA news report on Howard U Hospital research on TM & high blood pressure below:

In a separate NBC News report on the Howard study, lead researcher Dr. Otelio Randall, said, “The meditation should decrease the stress that comes in through the brain into the vessels and the heart, cause the vessels to relax and dilate, and result in the blood pressure going down.” The research team is comparing the results of those who are meditating with those who are not.

Rosmary Palmer-Powell, one of the study participants, added, “I have been practicing Transcendental Meditation for six months and it has really changed my life.”

The Howard study will involve more than 300 subjects, and is being funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

References:

Read about some of the other studies that have been funded by the National Institutes of Health on the effect of the Transcendental Meditation program on heart disease by clicking on the images below.