The Effect of Aromatherapy with Essential Rose Oils on Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Patients

Hypertension is a prevalent health problem worldwide. Complementary medicine is commonly used in the treatment of hypertension and Aromatherapy is one of the complementary therapies.

The present study was conducted to investigate effects of aromatherapy using essential oils of damask rose on hypertension.

This clinical trial was conducted on 62 hypertension patients, who were randomly assigned to two intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, patients were treated with aromatherapy twice a day for two weeks, each lasting 2 minutes, by inhaling three drops of essential oils of damask rose instill on a piece of cotton. In the control group, placebo was used. Blood pressure of the patients was measured on days 2, 5, 9, 14, and 16. The obtained data were analyzed using statistical independent t-test and repeated measure analysis of variance at P < 0.05.

Both groups were homogenous in terms of demographic specifications. The results showed a statistically significant decrease in systolic blood pressure between the intervention and control groups. Aromatherapy in the intervention group resulted in a statistically significant decrease in diastolic blood pressure, only on day 12. Moreover, on the fifth to the twelfth days, the effect of aromatherapy on pulse decrease in intervention group was more evident than the control group.

Based on the obtained results, essential oils of damask rose can be used as an effective supplementary treatment of hypertension.