Tai Chi more effective than aerobic exercise at lowering BP in prehypertension

Individuals with prehypertension may fare better with a Tai Chi than with an aerobic exercise intervention, with a study showing that Tai Chi leads to better improvements in systolic blood pressure (SBP).

The study included 342 adults (mean age 49.3 years, 48.5 percent men) with prehypertension, defined as having an SBP of 120 to 139 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP (DBP) of 80 to 89 mm Hg. These participants were randomly assigned to undergo either a Tai Chi (n=173) or an aerobic exercise (n=169) intervention. The interventions were conducted for four 60-minute supervised sessions per week for 12 months.

The primary endpoint was SBP at 12 months, which was measured in the office setting. Secondary endpoints included SBP at 6 months and DBP at 6 and 12 months obtained in the office setting and 24-hour ambulatory BP at 12 months.

At 12 months, office SBP was lower by 2.40 mm Hg (95 percent confidence interval [CI], −4.39 to −0.41) (p=0.02) in the Tai Chi group, with a mean (SD) change of −7.01 mm Hg as opposed to −4.61 mm Hg in the aerobic exercise group. Results for office SBP at 6 months followed a similar pattern (−2.31 mm Hg, 95 percent CI, −3.94 to −0.67; p=0.006).

Likewise, the Tai Chi group had significantly lower 24-hour ambulatory SBP (−2.16 mm Hg, 95 percent CI, −3.84 to −0.47; p=0.01) and night-time ambulatory SBP (−4.08 mm Hg, 95 percent CI, −6.59 to −1.57; p=0.002) compared with the aerobic exercise group.