NHS Prescription Device Plays Music To Lower Your Blood Pressure

See how long it takes to get this across the pond.
http://www.pabnews.com/23673/nhs-prescription-device-plays-music-to-lower-your-blood-pressure/
A new device for lowering blood pressure became available from 1 February on the NHS at a cost of £7.40 – the standard prescription charge.

The Resperate is a gadget which qualifies as a biofeedback device and could easily pass as a portable CD player; it reduces a person’s breathing rate by playing them easy-listening type music via the headphones.

Claims by researchers state that many thousands of patients can be helped with controlling their high blood pressure using the new device without the need to resort to taking various medications that may cause undesirable side effects such as lethargy, vertigo and swelling of the ankles.

A patient using The Resperate wears a strap fastened around their chest from which the device detects and monitors the patient’s breathing rate. The Resperate duly plays appropriate music through the headphones, patients follow the rhythm and breathe in and out to the music’s tempo. Gradually the music will become slower and the patient’s breathing will be paced and slow accordingly thus modifying the blood pressure; this is similar to the effects claimed to be gained from practising yoga techniques and meditation.

However, many experts remain reserved and are cautious about its value and have stated that patients should not be reliant on the device alone and it should not be used as replacement for any medication prescribed for high blood pressure with some experts saying that no evidence has been shown suggesting it could be an alternative to medication.

The manufacturer of the Resperate, InterCure, claims patients have been able to discontinue taking their medication by using the device. The advice to patients is to use the Resperate for at least 40 minutes within a seven-day period, consisting of four x ten-minute sessions.

An average breathing rate of a person measures 18 breaths per minute, but in order to lower blood pressure it is necessary to reduce this rate – this is where the role of the Resperate comes in.

A spokesman for the Blood Pressure Association said that as with any ‘assistant’ therapy, the device must not be used by patients as a replacement for any treatments or medication that have been prescribed by their GP.

Approximately16 million people in Britain suffer from hypertension, the medical term for high blood pressure. If uncontrolled, this condition can cause stroke and heart attacks. Dietary and exercise regimens can contribute towards reducing high blood pressure; if this proves unsuccessful sufferers are prescribed one or more of a number of medications such as beta blockers, alpha blockers and ACE inhibitors.