Exploring Mindfulness Meditation in Managing Elevated Blood Pressure and Heart Rate in Debilitating Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US, with elevated blood pressure (BP) significantly contributing to its progression. Mindfulness meditation has emerged as a high-value preventative care strategy for managing BP and heart rate (HR); however, its specific effects on managing BP and HR in individuals with debilitating CVD remain poorly understood. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on HR, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in this population. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we employed a tailored Boolean string to search PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. Twelve articles met our inclusion criteria. Random effects meta-analyses revealed that mindfulness meditation reduced SBP (d = -0.38, p < 0.01), DBP (d = -0.42, p < 0.01), and HR (d = -0.64, p = 0.01) in individuals with debilitating CVD and elevated blood pressure. Control groups showed no significant changes in SBP (d = -0.10, p = 0.10), DBP (d = 0.17, p = 0.27), and HR (d = -0.00, p = 0.95). Heterogeneity across SBP (I2 = 0.55), DBP (I2 = 0.85), and HR (I2 = 0.86) was high, highlighting variability across studies. Overall, our results suggest that mindfulness meditation may help manage BP in individuals with debilitating CVD and elevated BP, potentially by promoting parasympathetic activity and reducing sympathetic drive. Further research is needed to elucidate the physiological mechanisms by which mindfulness meditation influences BP and HR in individuals with CVD and elevated BP.