- With Mayo Clinic emeritus hypertension specialist
Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
Sheldon Sheps, M.D.
Dr. Sheldon Sheps, emeritus professor of medicine and former chair of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension in the Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, has been with Mayo Clinic since 1960.
Dr. Sheps, a Winnipeg, Manitoba, native, is board certified in internal medicine and specializes in hypertension and peripheral vascular diseases. He developed a multidisciplinary approach with specially trained nurses, dietitians, technicians and educators to help form a team approach to the treatment of patients with abnormal blood pressure.
"I have always believed in involving the patient and family in their health care," Dr. Sheps says. "I have asked for their understanding of the illness and issues and for participation in decisions. The Web is a natural extension of that, and now many more people can be informed."
Dr. Sheps chaired the sixth working group, and he participated in the fourth, fifth and seventh groups that developed the then-latest guidelines for hypertension under the auspices of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). He helped write the latest American Heart Association (AHA) report on blood pressure measurement. He chaired an AHA group that produced an online accreditation for blood pressure measurement for health professionals.
Dr. Sheps has co-authored books, newsletters, CD-ROMs and other Mayo Clinic health information material. He joined Mayo Clinic's Web team in 1998. He was medical editor-in-chief of both editions of the "Mayo Clinic on High Blood Pressure" book; the last edition was published in 2003. He was also medical editor-in-chief of "Mayo Clinic 5 Steps to Controlling High Blood Pressure," published in 2008.
In addition, Dr. Sheps was section editor for each of the first three editions of "Hypertension Primer" for the American Heart Association.
Dr. Sheps was also chairman of the Science Base Subcommittee and the National High Blood Pressure Education Program, and he was a consultant to the Hypertension Initiative of the World Health Organization. In 1997, he was honored with the Individual Achievement Award on the 25th anniversary of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program of NHLBI. In 2009, he was honored as a Distinguished Mayo Alumnus.
Definition (3)
- Isolated systolic hypertension: A health concern?
- Blood pressure: Is it affected by cold weather?
- White-coat hypertension: When blood pressure rises at the doctor's office
Risk factors (2)
- Alcohol: Does it affect blood pressure?
- Menopause and high blood pressure: What's the connection?
Symptoms (1)
- Pulse pressure: An indicator of heart health?
Causes (5)
- Caffeine: How does it affect blood pressure?
- Blood pressure readings: Why higher at home?
- Blood pressure: Does it have a daily pattern?
- see all in Causes
Complications (1)
- Hypertensive crisis: What are the symptoms?
Treatments and drugs (7)
- Polypill: Does it treat heart disease?
- After a flood, are food and medicine safe to use?
- Blood pressure medications: Can they raise my triglycerides?
- see all in Treatments and drugs
Lifestyle and home remedies (11)
- Weightlifting: Bad for your blood pressure?
- Blood pressure medication: Still necessary if I lose weight?
- Resperate: Can it help reduce blood pressure?
- see all in Lifestyle and home remedies
Alternative medicine (2)
- L-arginine: Does it lower blood pressure?
- Do infrared saunas have any health benefits?
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Question
Resperate: Can it help reduce blood pressure?
What can you tell me about Resperate? Does it really help lower blood pressure?
Answer
from Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
Resperate is a portable electronic device that promotes slow, deep breathing. Resperate is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for reducing stress and lowering blood pressure. It's available without a prescription. Resperate uses chest sensors to measure your breathing, and then a computerized unit creates a melody for you to use to synchronize your breathing. The melody is supposed to help you slow your breathing with long exhalations.
Although studies on Resperate are ongoing, it appears Resperate can help lower your blood pressure in the short term. Researchers are still investigating whether using Resperate over the long term can create lasting effects on lowering your blood pressure.
Resperate is intended to be used at least 15 minutes a day, three to four days a week. Within a few weeks, the deep-breathing exercises can help lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure — the top and bottom numbers in a blood pressure reading. You need to keep doing the breathing exercises to maintain the blood pressure lowering benefits.
If you're considering using Resperate, talk to your doctor. He or she may be able to tell you if breathing exercises may be helpful in lowering your blood pressure.
Next questionHigh blood pressure and cold remedies: Which are safe?
- Resperate. InterCure. http://www.resperate.com/us/media/pdfs/downloadable_mail_package.pdf. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Resperate clinical trials. National Institutes of Health. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?intr=%22Resperate%22. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Anderson DE, et al. Regular slow-breathing exercise effects on blood pressure and breathing patterns at rest. Journal of Human Hypertension. In press. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Gavish B. Device-guided breathing in the home setting: Technology, performance and clinical outcomes. Biological Psychology. 2010;84:150.
- Schein MH, et al. Treating hypertension in type II diabetic patients with device-guided breathing: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Human Hypertension. 2009;23:325.
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