Effectiveness of Muscle Progressive Relaxation on Perceived Stress in Patients with Essential Hypertension

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of muscle progressive relaxation on perceived stress in patients with hypertention. Present study is a quasi-experimental research administered with a pretest-posttest design with control group. The statistical society of this research consisted of patients with hypertention referred to Bu Ali Sina and Razi hospitals of Qazvin. 40 patients were randomly selected and then randomly assigned in experimental and control groups. All of the subjects completed the treatment. In experimental group, Relaxation with progressive contraction-relaxation method based on 16 groups of the muscles was administered in 12 sessions. Results of ANCOVA showed that relaxation has significantly decreased perceived stress, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate in patients of the experimental group. Based on results of this study and antecedent studies, we can regard relaxation as one of the effective methods in decreasing perceived stress and blood pressure.