THE EFFECT OF SLOW BREATHING EXERCISE PROGRAM ON BLOOD PRESSURE LEVELS AMONG ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research aimed to study the effect of slow breathing exercise program on blood pressure levels among patients with essential hypertension. Males and females with essential hypertension, aged 18-59 years were recruited from the out-patient clinic, the Police General Hospital. This purposive sampling was composed of the control (n=22) and the experimental groups (n=22), using a matched pair for age, body mass index, and types of blood pressure medications. The control group was treated with usual nursing care while the experimental group was treated with usual nursing care plus an 8-week slow breathing exercise program and blood pressure level measurement both before and after the experiment. The content of the slow breathing exercise program, questionnaires, and record form were validated by the 5 experts with the content validity index of .80 Descriptive statistics and t-test were used to analyze the data.

The results revealed that:

1. The average of blood pressure level in the group of patients with essential hypertension receiving the slow breathing exercise program was significantly lower than that before receiving the program at the statistical level of .05.

2. After receiving the slow breathing exercise program, the average of the blood pressure level in experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group at the statistical level of .05.