ArticleInternational journal of cardiology. Cardiovascular risk and prevention2024
Effect of breathing exercises on blood pressure and heart rate: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in International journal of cardiology. Cardiovascular risk and prevention, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07781943 (The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises Performed Prior to Diagnostic Gastroscopy on Anxiety, Fear, and Vital Signs in Adult Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises Performed Prior to Diagnostic Gastroscopy on Anxiety, Fear, and Vital Signs in Adult Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of yogic breathing (Pranayama) on heart rate and blood pressure in patients with hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Indian heart journalPooled it
- Post-Exercise Controlled Breathing Enhances Cardiovascular Recovery and Autonomic Balance: A Randomised Crossover Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Trial
- A 14-week structured breathing program: an investigation into its impact on psychological health parameters in university students.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- The Impact of a Technology-Assisted, Two-Month Breathing Exercise Intervention on Daily Affect, Weekly Stress and Examinational Stress.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Acute Effects of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Trunk and Shoulder Mobility and Pulmonary Function in Healthy Young Adults.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Novel Virtual Reality Intervention for Stress Reduction Among Patients With or at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: Mixed Methods Pilot Study.JMIR cardio · 2025Article
- A Molecularly Defined Medullary Network for Control of Respiratory Homeostasis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- The effectiveness of functional inspiratory muscle training on exercise capacity and peripheral muscle strength in patients with essential hypertension: a three-arm randomized controlled trial.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Article
- Effect ofBioinformation · 2024Article
- Resonant breathing improves self-reported symptoms and wellbeing in people with Long COVID.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2024Article
- Making a Case for Whole Person Health.Global advances in integrative medicine and healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Breathing exercises have been reported to have positive physiological effects on the body. The incidence of hypertension has become a major risk factor for cardiac complications leading to higher morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the effect of breathing exercises on blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis analyzing randomized clinical trials (RCTs) about the effect of breathing exercises on blood pressure was conducted (PROSPERO Registration ID: CRD42022316413). PubMed, ScienceDirect, WebofScience, and Cochrane Library databases were screened for RCTs from January 2017 to September 2022. The main search terms included "breathing exercise", "Pranayam", "Bhramari", "alternate nostril breathing", "deep breathing", "slow breathing", "hypertension", and "high blood pressure". The primary outcome was the value of the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure after the intervention. The effect on heart rate was also analyzed as a secondary outcome. Results: A total of 15 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Breathing exercises have a modest but significant effect on decreasing systolic blood pressure (-7.06 [-10.20, -3.92], P = <0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (-3.43 [-4.89, -1.97], P = <0.01) mm Hg. Additionally, breathing exercises were also observed to cause a significant decrease in the heart rate (-2.41 [-4.53, -0.30], P = 0.03) beats/minute. Conclusion: In a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of breathing exercises and its effect on BP and HR, there is a moderate but significant positive effect. The studies are not deprived of bias.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.