Case study on hypertension, physical exercise and psychophysiological coherence biofeedback

Abstract

Hypertension is a serious stress related disorder, typically requiring pharmacology in combination with various methods of health promotion including diet, specific lifestyle and psychophysiological techniques. This case study describes the effective treatment of a hypertensive crisis in a 63 year old woman with special reference to relevant, optimal, physical exercise and psychophysiological, heart rhythm variability, biofeedback interventions. Quantitative findings and client’s experiential descriptions provided convergent support for the hypothesis that these interventions would be associated with blood pressure reductions. The single case study is instructive with regard to the typically holistic, multifactorial nature of aetiology, diagnosis and treatment, especially with regard to such common disorders as essential hypertension.

Keywords: Introspection, case study, hypertension, blood pressure, physical exercise, HeartMath, psychophysiological coherence