Resperate

Resperate is the brand name of a portable, battery-operated personal therapeutic medical device used to lower blood pressure. Sold over the counter (OTC) for home use, it has been FDA-cleared since 2002 as a biofeedback device under an FDA (510k) filing. [http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/pdf2/k020399.pdf] Ten published original research and review articles in peer-review medical journals supports the claim that regular use of the machine can dependably reduce blood pressure when used consistently.

Employing the concept of paced breathing, the Resperate device can be used alone or as an adjuvant by patients already taking anti-hypertensive medication. People whose blood pressure is in the normal or high normal range may also benefit from using the device.

Rationale for a nonvasive, paced-breathing device to reduce blood pressure

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, typically responds to a variety of drugs, including diuretics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. The considerable variety of pharmaceutical solutions speaks to the complexity of blood pressure, its importance for good health, and to the significance of hypertension as a primary risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Although most patients can achieve control of blood pressure with drugs, all pharmaceuticals may produce unwanted side effects. Every patient requires an individualized treatment plan, to be adjusted over time, and medication can be costly. Resperate may be employed either in conjunction with pharmacological therapy or as part of a lifestyle modification program prior to or after inauguration of a drug regimen. The machine has no known adverse effects and no side effects profile.

The Machine

A proprietary device, Resperate is the principal product manufactured by InterCure, a corporation with headquarters in New York and Lod, Israel. The several models released to date share the same essential physical shape: a clamshell-shaped plastic unit about he size of an ordinary book in which is embedded a rectangular LED screen, a sensor attached to a lightweight fabric belt, and a set of earphones.

Resperate qualifies as a “biofeedback” device that guides the use of paced breathing to modify blood pressure. In this respect it is similar to such techniques as yoga and meditation, and peer-reviewed articles that have tested the device make reference to these holistic techniques, as does the hypertension literature prior to the development of the machine. The proposed explanation of how paced breathing influences blood pressure control is based on its effect on the physiology of blood vessels and its relationship to biochemically control blood pressure.

To use the machine, patients fasten the sensor belt around the abdomen, usually while comfortably seated, while wearing a set of earphones that is plugged into the device. When the device is turned on, the sensor relays information about breathing patterns and rate. The device plays a melody (heard through the earphones, with visual cues on the LED screen) comprised of two tones. A rising tone guides inhalation while a lower tone accompanies exhalation. The regular, paced tones guides the patient to a pattern of breathing that is under 10 breaths per minute (bpm), which instructions for the machine propose as a baseline for reducing blood pressure. The number of bpms during use is shown on the LED display.

The theory proposed to account for lower blood pressure through paced breathing is that reduced sympathetic nerve traffic, executive of activated pulmonary mechanoreceptors, causes the muscles surrounding the arterioles (the smallest of the arteries) to dilate. [Device-Guided Breathing to Lower Blood Pressure: Case Report and Clinical Overview. W Elliott, J Izzo. Medscape General Medicine. 2006; 8(3). http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/539099] As blood flows more freely, blood pressure is significantly reduced. Used on a daily basis over time, reduction in some patients is substantial and long-lasting.

Research

The body of research concerning Resperate comprises about ten articles published in peer-reviewed journals. [High Blood Pressure Reduction in Diabetics with Interactive Device-Guided Paced Breathing: Final Results of a Randomized Controlled Study. MH Schein, A Alter, S Levine, T Baevsky, A Nessing, and B Gavish. Journal of Hypertension. 2007; 25 (2), S192.] [Effect of Device-guided breathing exercise on blood pressure control: Korean multi-center study. JH Bae et al. Korean Hypertension Journal. 2006; 1:19-23.] [Device-Guided Paced Breathing Reduces Blood Pressure: Ambulatory and Office Measurements. Levent Aydin, Akın Kürklü, Ahmet Şengül, Yüksel Altuntaş, Serap Erdine.European Society of Hypertension 2008. [Journal reference pending] ] [Treating hypertension with a device that slows and regularizes breathing: A randomised, double-blind controlled study. Schein M, Gavish B, Herz M, Rosner-Kahana D, Naveh P, Knishkowy B, Zlotnikov E, Ben-Zvi N, Melmed RN. Journal of Human Hypertension. 2001; 15:271-278.] [Breathing-control lowers blood pressure. Grossman E, Grossman A, Schein MH, Zimlichman R, Gavish B. Journal of Human Hypertension. 2001; 15:263-269.] [Nonpharmacologic Treatment of Hypertension by Respiratory Exercise in the Home Setting. E Meles, C Giannattasio, M Failla, G Gentile, A Capra, G Mancia. American Journal of Hypertension. 2004; 17:370-374.] [Device-guided breathing exercises reduce blood pressure - Ambulatory and home measurements. T Rosenthal, A Alter, E Peleg, B Gavish. American Journal of Hypertension. 2001; 14:74-76.] [Non-Pharmacological treatment of resistant hypertensives by device-guided slow breathing exercises. R Viskoper, I Shapira, R Priluck, R Mindlin, L Chornia, A Laszt, D Dicker, B Gavish, A Alter. American Journal of Hypertension. 2003; Vol 16:484-487.] [Graded Blood Pressure Reduction in Hypertensive Outpatients Associated with Use of a Device to Assist with Slow Breathing. W Elliott, J Izzo, Jr., WB White, D Rosing, CS Snyder, A Alter, B Gavish, HR Black. J Clin Hypertens. 2004; 6(10): 553-559.] [Reduction of home blood pressures and white coat effect after 8 weeks of device-guided paced breathing. W Elliott, B Gavish, A Alter, J L. Izzo, and H R. Black. American Journal of Hypertension. 2005; 18(5): 211A] .This research, including several randomized, double-blind trials of modest size, is essentially consistent and supports use of the machine for reduction of blood pressure.

References