Study Author Country Journal/year Subject # Intervention BP Outcomes [mm Hg] Summary
Patel  [16] England
Lancet 1975
43 subjects with hypertension Yoga vs. usual care SBP decrease:
Yoga: -26
Usual care: -9
Large reduction in SBP
Murugesan et al. [15] India
Indian Journal of Physiology
2000
43 subjects with hypertension 3 groups
1. Yoga
2. Medication
3. No treatment
Yoga home practice 6 hrs per week x 11 weeks
SBP decrease:
1: -33
2: -24
3: -4
Large reduction in SBP
McCaffrey et al. [11] Thailand Holistic Nursing Practice
2005
27 untreated hypertensive patients and 27 controls Yoga for 8 weeks versus control SBP/DBP change
Yoga: -25/-18 control: +2/+2
Large reduction in SBP
Khatri et al. [23] India
India Diabetes Clinical Practice
2007
101 subjects Medical treatment versus yoga and meditation Reduction of SBP by 16 in yoga group Large reduction in SBP
Saptharishi et al. [19] India
Indian Journal of Medicine
2009
113 subjects with
prehypertension and hypertension
102 completed
1 – control
2- exercise
3 – low sodium
4 – yoga
1 – no change
2 – 5.3/6.0
3 – 2.6/3.7
4 – 2.0/2.6
Exercise more effective than salt or yoga
Subramanian et al. [18] India
Indian Journal of Medicine
2011
98 subjects 94 completed
1 – control
2- exercise
3 – low sodium
4 – yoga
SBP/DBP change
1: no change
2: - -5.3/-6.0
3: -2.5/-2.0
4: -2.3/-2.4
Exercise more effective than sodium reduction or yoga
Cade et al. [21] St Louis, USA
HIV Medicine 2010
60 HIV subjects with mild/moderate CV disease risk 20 weeks of supervised yoga or standard care SBP/DBP change Yoga: -5/-3
Standard care: +1/+2
Yoga shows modest reduction in SBP and DBP
Blom et al. [20] Canada Prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension Meditation and yoga vs. wait list control x 8 weeks Mean awake ABP and 24 hr ABP No significant change in BP in either group
Cohen et al. [17] Philadelphia, USA
Evidence Based Complementary and  Alternative Medicine
2011
78 patients with prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension
32 – Diet group
46 – Yoga group
31 subjects completed diet intervention and 26 completed the yoga intervention.
Diet versus yoga for 12 weeks
24 hr ABP:
SBP/DBP change Diet: -4/-2  Yoga: -6/-5
Modest reduction in SBP and DBP
Cohen et al. [28] Contemporary Clinical Trials
2013
120 subjects with prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension 1. Diet/walking
2. Yoga
3. Yoga and diet
Study conducted over 24 weeks
24 hr ABP Will be completed in 12/13.
Table 1: Randomized controlled trials of yoga and hypertension. ABP = ambulatory BP, SBP = systolic BP, DBP = diastolic BP