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September 14, 2026Journal of Clinical HypertensionOpen Access

Virtual Reality Reduces Office Blood Pressure and Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring: Enhanced Response among Those With a Pronounced White Coat Response

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Why the study?

Does a brief immersive virtual reality relaxation experience reduce office blood pressure and anxiety in adults undergoing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring?

Population

78 adults undergoing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in a tertiary hypertension clinic, mean age 62 ±…

Comparison

Brief immersive virtual reality relaxation… vs Baseline (pre-intervention measurements)

Design

Cohort

Follow-up

Immediate (pre-post intervention)

Key result

A brief virtual reality relaxation intervention significantly reduced systolic office blood pressure by 6.1 mmHg (95% CI, -7.6 to -4.6; p < 0.001) among adults undergoing ambulatory monitoring.

Authors

LBLyle W. BakerRKR KarthikVMVinay R. Munlapudi

Discussion

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Overview

May support VR relaxation for office BP reduction; hypothesis-generating and requires randomized confirmation before practice change.

Key Points

  • To determine whether brief immersive virtual reality relaxation reduces office blood pressure and anxiety in patients undergoing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, particularly those with a white coat response.
  • Prospective, single-arm, pre-post interventional clinical trial (NCT06960057) conducted in N=78 adults (mean age 62 ± 15 years; 47% female) at a tertiary hypertension clinic.
  • Office blood pressure (OBP) and validated anxiety assessments were measured immediately before and after an immersive VR relaxation session, with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) used to classify predefined subgroups.
  • Cohort-wide systolic OBP decreased by 6.1 mmHg (95% CI, -7.6 to -4.6; p < 0.001) and diastolic OBP decreased by 1.4 mmHg (p = 0.002) following VR relaxation.
  • Participants with a pronounced white coat response (office-to-daytime ambulatory systolic difference ≥15 mmHg) experienced a systolic BP reduction of -12.2 mmHg (p < 0.001), significantly greater than other subgroups (between-group p = 0.005).
  • VR exposure led to 32.1% of participants being reclassified to a lower OBP category, alongside significant reductions in anxiety scores and no reported adverse effects.

Structured PICO

Does a brief immersive virtual reality relaxation experience reduce office blood pressure and anxiety in adults undergoing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring?

P
Population
78 adults (mean age 62, 47% female) undergoing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in a tertiary hypertension clinic.
I
Intervention
Brief immersive virtual reality (VR) relaxation experience
C
Comparator
Baseline (pre-intervention measurements)
O
Outcome
Change in office blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) and anxiety scores before and after VR exposuresurrogate

Main Result

Mean Difference: -6.1 (95% CI -7.6–-4.6)

p-value: p=< 0.001

A brief virtual reality relaxation intervention significantly reduces office blood pressure and anxiety, especially in patients with a pronounced white coat response, suggesting utility as an adjunct in hypertension clinics.

Cite This Study

Baker et al. (2026) studied Hypertension (n=78). Virtual reality (VR)-based relaxation vs. Baseline (pre-intervention) was evaluated on Change in systolic office blood pressure (MD -6.1 mmHg, 95% CI -7.6 to -4.6, p=< 0.001). A brief virtual reality relaxation intervention significantly reduced systolic office blood pressure by 6.1 mmHg (95% CI, -7.6 to -4.6; p < 0.001) among adults undergoing ambulatory monitoring.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa7afef79e9260bc85aac7fhttps://doi.org/10.1111/jch.70360
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