Antihypertensive effect of low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in comparison with drug treatment

Abstract

Hypertension is a major risk factor for vascular disease, yet blood pressure (BP) control is unsatisfactory low, partly due to side-effects. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is well tolerated and studies have demonstrated BP reduction. In this study, we compared the BP lowering effect of 2.5 mg felodipin once daily with 30 min of bidaily low-frequency TENS in 32 adult hypertensive subjects (mean office BP 152.7/90.0 mmHg) in a randomized, crossover design. Office BP and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) were performed at baseline and at the end of each 4-week treatment and washout period. Felodipin reduced office BP by 10/6 mmHg (p <0.001 respectively) and after washout BP rose to a level still significantly lower than at baseline. TENS reduced office BP by 5/1.5 mmHg (p <0.01, ns). After TENS washout, BP was further reduced and significantly lower than at baseline, but at levels similar to BP after felodipin washout and therefore reasonably caused by factors other than the treatment per se. ABPM revealed a significant systolic reduction of 3 mmHg by felodipin, but no significant changes were noted after TENS. We conclude that our study does not present any solid evidence of BP reduction of TENS.

Key Words::

• blood pressure
• felodipin
• hypertension
• transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
• TENS
• treatment

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely wish to thank RN Anna-Pia Wentzel and RN Bodil Malmqvist for excellent technical assistance. This study was supported by grants to Professor C. Mannheimer and Associate Professor K. Manhem from the Swedish state under the LUA/ALF agreement.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.