Abstract: Does Meditation Mitigate the Cardiovascular Stress Response?

Roopsha Chatterjee (1*), Amrita Pal (1), Beatrix Krause-Sorio (1), Fernando Martinez (1), Paul

M. Macey (1).

(1) UCLA School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California,

United States of America

Past studies have examined the positive resting cardiovascular effects of various forms of

meditation; however, the impact of short-term meditation on cardiovascular responsiveness is

unknown. Physiological data in response to the Valsalva maneuver, a blood pressure (BP)

regulation challenge, was collected in subjects before and after participation in a 10 min session

of guided mindfulness to determine the cardiovascular stress response afterwards. Baroreflex

sensitivity (BRS) was used to evaluate the effect of meditation on modifying cardiac output in

response to BP.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) and continuous BP were recorded in 14 healthy adults (5 men) in three

valsalva phases (baseline, Valsalva maneuver, recovery) before and after meditation. The BioPac

Acqknowledge software V5 was used for artifact correction and to compute BRS before and

after meditation. A Wilcoxon signed-rank non-parametric test was performed on BRS due to a

skewed population prior to meditation.

When comparing BRS before (20±10ms/mmHg) and after (16±12ms/mmHg) meditation,

significant differences were found (T=19, p=.03, r=-.6). A drop in BRS following meditation

could be explained by the reduction in BP seen with slower breathing, which results in reduced

baroreflex signal output. Therefore, BRS decreases as a compensatory mechanism to maintain

homeostasis in BP regulation. Modest effect sizes suggest a larger sample size and meditation

training may reveal the impact of mindfulness on physiological responsiveness to a greater

extent.

Supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute HL135562 and the UCLA School of

Nursing.