An Insight on the Therapeutic Potential of Breathing Exercises for Hypertension & Cardiovascular Health: Review of Current Evidence and Future Directions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2026-1009-5060Keywords:
Breathing exercise, Blood pressure, HypertensionAbstract
Hypertension, a key contributing factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), continues to drive global morbidity and mortality, affecting 1.3 billion people worldwide. While pharmacological treatments are the standard of care, they are often associated with side effects and do not always achieve optimum blood pressure control. in recent years, non-pharmacological interventions, particularly breathing exercises, have gained recognition for their potential to complement conventional therapies. This review explores the the therapeutic impacts of various techniques including diaphragmatic deep breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, box breathing, alternate nostril breathing, and pursed-lip breathing on blood pressure regulation, cardiovascular health and autonomic function. Additionally, we examined device guided intervention as an emerging technique. Despite robust evidence supporting the individual benefits of these techniques on blood pressure control and cardiovascular health, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the combine and synergistic effect of multiple breathing techniques. To address this gap, this review underscores the importance of future research to explore potential synergistic benefits of combining different breathing exercise patterns in the management of hypertension and enhancing cardiovascular health.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Basheer Isah Waziri, Zahra'u Sani Ibrahim
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