INTRODUCTION: Systemic hypertension is a major contributor to global cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Effective management combines pharmacological and lifestyle interventions. Pranayama, a yogic breathing technique, may modulate cardiovascular function, but its impact on hypertension remains uncertain.
METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO: CRD42024597502) included RCTs from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov up to April 2025. We assessed Risk of bias using Cochrane RoB 2, and pooled effects were reported as standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs).
RESULTS: Seven RCTs (683 participants) showed a significant reduction in the primary outcome, heart rate (SMD = -0.43; 95 % CI: -0.52 to -0.34; I = 0 %). Systolic BP decreased significantly under fixed-effects (SMD = -0.72), while diastolic BP and HRV improvements were modest.
CONCLUSION: Pranayama lowers heart rate and may modestly reduce blood pressure, supporting its role as a safe, adjunctive therapy pending larger standardized trials.
METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO: CRD42024597502) included RCTs from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov up to April 2025. We assessed Risk of bias using Cochrane RoB 2, and pooled effects were reported as standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs).
RESULTS: Seven RCTs (683 participants) showed a significant reduction in the primary outcome, heart rate (SMD = -0.43; 95 % CI: -0.52 to -0.34; I = 0 %). Systolic BP decreased significantly under fixed-effects (SMD = -0.72), while diastolic BP and HRV improvements were modest.
CONCLUSION: Pranayama lowers heart rate and may modestly reduce blood pressure, supporting its role as a safe, adjunctive therapy pending larger standardized trials.
Chidambaram Yogapriya, Saravana Kumar Pavitraa, Gunasekar Swetharajan, Kundoor Laxminarasimha Reddy, Kuppusamy Maheshkumar, Kasi Madhesh, Chandrasekaran Ambalam M, Shanmugasundaram Sadhanandham, Ramesh Sankaran, Sadagopan Thanikachalam, Naik Nithish, Roy Ambuj, Prabhakaran Dorairaj, Senguttuvan Nagendra Boopathy
Jan 2026
Indian heart journal
Blood pressure, Heart rate, Heart rate variability, Hypertension, Non-pharmacological intervention, Pranayama, Prehypertension
Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.