Abstract

Background: Cognitive and behavior therapy can be used as an adjunct to medications to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Aim: To design a brief psychological intervention for hypertensive patients and assess its effects on blood pressure. Material and methods: Thirty eight hypertensive subjects (35 women, age range 63-77 years) were studied. They were randomly divided in a control and experimental group. The latter group attended eight sessions of a cognitive-behavioral intervention, lasting two hours each, during one month. In each session, subjects were trained in relaxation techniques, cognitive modeling and psycho education. The main outcome assessed was a change in blood pressure levels. Results: In the experimental group, there was a significant reduction from baseline to the second post test assessment, in systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels from 134±9 to 123±8 mmHg and from 87±5 to 73±6 mmHg, respectively. Conclusions: The psychological intervention used in the present study achieved significant reductions in blood pressure levels in this group of hypertensive subjects.