Combining Behavioral Treatments to Reduce Blood Pressure

A six-month multifocal behavioral treatment program was compared to clinic blood pressure monitoring only. Subjects were 50 men and women with blood pressures in the borderline hypertensive or upper normotensive range. The behavioral treatment combined relaxation therapy, reduction of salt intake, and weight reduction. After six months, both groups showed a significant decline of systolic pressure (5.7 and 6.1 mm Hg, respectively), but there was no difference between the groups. There was no significant change in diastolic pressure in either group. There was a significantly larger decline of weight in the behavioral group. At the one-year follow-up, there was a significant decline of diastolic pressure in both groups, and systolic pressures remained significantly below baseline levels. Again, the changes were equivalent in both groups. Thus both interventions were associated with decrease of blood pressure, but there was no advantage of the behavioral treatment over clinic blood pressure monitoring.