Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Executive Functions in Patients with Hypertension: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Hypertension one of the main risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and premature death worldwide. Researches indicate different cognitive activities and executive functions in cardiovascular and hypertension patients compared to non-afflicted people.

Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on executive functions in patients with hypertension.

The present study was a randomized clinical trial based on the pre-test, post-test, follow-up design. The statistical population consisted of all the people with hypertension who referred to Heshmat Heart Hospital in Rasht city, Iran, in 2021. Thirty-four qualified volunteers were included in the study by purposive sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of MBSR and control. Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (computer version) were the instrument employed in this research; and MBSR sessions were held for 2 months (8 sessions, one 120-minute session each week). The research data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc test.

In the pre-test design, there wasn't a difference in the completed categories and perseverative errors, between the MBSR group (2±0.485 and 30.06±6.60) and the control group (2.06±0.659 and 29.88±9.4. In the post-test design, a significant difference in the completed categories and perseverative errors was found between the MBSR group (3.29±0.848 and 20.94±5.71) and the control group (2.18±0.636 and 29.94±8.70); which implies the MBSR group outperformed the control group in Improving executive functions of patients with hypertension. Finally, at the follow-up, all changes were still stable.

MBSR was effective on executive functions of patients with hypertension. Therefore, it is suggested that the mentioned intervention be used in medical centres to improve the cognitive activities of patients with hypertension, so that its positive results include the condition of these patients.