Sound therapy linked to reduced BP, better heart rate variability

In a small, early-stage study, a noninvasive neurotechnology sound therapy was associated with reduced BP and improved heart rate variability, according to findings presented at the American Heart Association’s Council on Hypertension Scientific Sessions.

According to the study background, high-resolution, relational, resonance-based, electroencephalic mirroring is an acoustic stimulation neurotechnology using sensors to measure brain electrical activity and detect imbalances or hyperarousal to balance brain frequencies that are commonly associated with reduced rates of BP.

“Most people have relatively balanced electrical activity between the right side and left sides of the brain,” Hossam A. Shaltout, RPh, PhD, assistant professor in the Hypertension and Vascular Research Center at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said in a press release. “Imbalance, with one side dominant, or more active, may reflect autonomic dysregulation associated with the effects of chronic stress, which is thought to play a role in high [BP], migraines, insomnia, depression, hot flashes and more.”

The researchers analyzed the effects of the acoustic stimulation neurotechnology on BP and autonomic function in an open feasibility study of patients with systolic BP greater than 130 mm Hg and diastolic BP greater than 90 mm Hg.

Over 28 days, 10 participants (mean age, 47 years; 50% women) received an average of 17.7 (standard deviation, 5.9) sessions with the sound therapy. Data were collected at baseline and 1 to 2 weeks after completion of the sessions.

The researchers found that systolic arterial pressure was reduced from 152 mm Hg to 136 mm Hg (P = .018), and diastolic arterial pressure was reduced from 97.2 mm Hg to 81 mm Hg (P < .001), with no changes in heart rate observed.

Heart rate variability, measured as the standard deviation of NN intervals, increased from 42 ± 7 ms to 57 ± 9.7 ms (P = .049), and baroreflex sensitivity measured by sequence method improved from 10.6 ms/mm Hg to 16.3 ms/mm Hg (P = .001), according to the researchers.

The insomnia severity index was reduced from 8.1 to 3.3 (P = .009), and there was a trend toward reduction of the 7-item generalized anxiety disorder scale score (from 7.2 to 2.2; P = .06), Shaltout and colleagues found.

The researchers reported no adverse events or dropouts.

“If these findings are confirmed in larger controlled studies, [the sound therapy] may prove to be a valuable new approach for brain-based health care,” Shaltout said in the release. – by Dave Quaile

Reference:

Shaltout HA, et al. Abstract P310. Presented at: American Heart Association’s Council on Hypertension Scientific Sessions; Sept. 14-16, 2016; Orlando, Fla.