Biofeedback Treatment of Hypertension

The biofeedback hypertension protocol is a full treatment protocol offering tools to teach the patient HRV (Heart Rate Variability) training and hand warming. Both techniques have proven efficacy in the treatment of hypertension.

The patient performs the biofeedback exercises twice a day at home. In addition to these two physical forms of training the patient also gets tools for stress reduction, relaxation and lifestyle change. When the patient is ready to start the protocol it takes about 10 weeks to complete the training. The therapist will see the patient during the hypertension training 5 times.

The recommended way to work with biofeedback is through simultaneous measurement of respiration, heart rate, hand temperature, skin conductance and muscle tension in the shoulders. This means that the therapist must have equipment with software capable of recording all these measurements at the same time. For therapists who do not have this equipment, we added an adapted version of the protocol using equipment that only measures heart rate.

This simpler way of doing biofeedback can have good results in a large number of patients. However, in patients with a very disturbed physiology it can be difficult to teach the correct breathing exercise if there is no information about the other body signals (respiration, muscle tension, hand temperature and skin conductance). Therefor the course also addresses signs indicating an incorrect way of performing the exercises.

Learning objectives

After completing this course the participant will be able to treat patients with hypertension using a combination of HRV training, hand warming training, stress reduction techniques and guidance with healthy behavioral change.

E-course format

• Introduction
• Blood pressure regulation
• Types of hypertension
• Causes of hypertension
• Anamnestic interview
• Preparatory breathing exercises
• Biofeedback hypertension protocol

Who is this course for?

Health care professionals, like psychologists and physical therapists, who work in a clinical setting and want to learn about biofeedback treatment of hypertension. No experience with biofeedback is needed, although it will help if the therapist has experience in treating patients using a psychophysiological or holistic approach.

Author

Mrs. Drs. D.M. (Daniëlle) Matto, psychologist, biofeedback therapist BCIA-BCB-HRV