Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41580026›Full record

SynthesisIndian heart journal

The effect of yogic breathing (Pranayama) on heart rate and blood pressure in patients with hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Yogapriya Chidambaram, Pavitraa Saravana Kumar, Swetharajan Gunasekar, Laxminarasimha Reddy Kundoor, Maheshkumar Kuppusamy, Madhesh Kasi, Ambalam M Chandrasekaran, Sadhanandham Shanmugasundaram, Sankaran Ramesh, Thanikachalam Sadagopan and 4 more

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Indian heart journal. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Yogapriya ChidambaramDepartment of Clinical Research, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), No.1, Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600116, India.
Pavitraa Saravana KumarDepartment of Human Genetics, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), No.1, Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600116, India.
Swetharajan GunasekarDepartment of Clinical Research, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), No.1, Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600116, India.
Laxminarasimha Reddy KundoorDepartment of Cardiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), No.1, Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600116, India.
Maheshkumar KuppusamyDepartment of Physiology and Biochemistry, Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Madhesh KasiDepartment of Clinical Research, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), No.1, Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600116, India.
Ambalam M ChandrasekaranCentre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC), New Delhi, Delhi, 110016, India.
Sadhanandham ShanmugasundaramDepartment of Cardiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), No.1, Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600116, India.
Sankaran RameshDepartment of Cardiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), No.1, Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600116, India.
Thanikachalam SadagopanDepartment of Cardiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), No.1, Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600116, India.
Nitish NaikDepartment of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, 110029, India.
Ambuj RoyDepartment of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, 110029, India.
Dorairaj PrabhakaranCentre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC), New Delhi, Delhi, 110016, India.
Nagendra Boopathy SenguttuvanDepartment of Cardiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), No.1, Ramachandra Nagar, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600116, India. Electronic address: drsnboopathy@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionSystemic 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.

methodsA 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).

resultsSeven RCTs (683 participants) showed a significant reduction in the primary outcome, heart rate (SMD = -0.43; 95 % CI: -0.52 to -0.34; I

conclusionPranayama lowers heart rate and may modestly reduce blood pressure, supporting its role as a safe, adjunctive therapy pending larger standardized trials.

Indexed as

Blood PressureBreathing ExercisesHeart RateHypertensionYogaHumansBlood pressureHeart rateHeart rate variabilityHypertensionNon-pharmacological interventionPranayamaPrehypertension

Identifiers

PMID41580026
PMCPMC13316001

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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 OpenQuestion graph.