Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Transcendental Meditation to combat psychosocial stress, hypertension and cardiovascular disease

Psychosocial stress is a major, modifiable driver of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Transcendental Meditation can effectively lower blood pressure, improve cardiometabolic health and might even reduce clinical cardiovascular disease events. Recognizing Transcendental Meditation within prevention frameworks could transform stress management from a lifestyle option into a core strategy for cardiovascular protection.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Levine, G. N. et al. Psychological health, well-being, and the mind-heart-body connection: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation 143, e763–e783 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Vaccarino, V. & Bremner, J. D. Stress and cardiovascular disease: an update. Nat. Rev. Cardiol. 21, 603–616 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Mosini, A. C. et al. Neurophysiological, cognitive-behavioral and neurochemical effects in practitioners of Transcendental Meditation – a literature review. Rev. Assoc. Med. Bras. 65, 706–713 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Khanal, M. K. et al. The promising role of Transcendental Meditation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases: a systematic review. Obes. Rev. 25, e13800 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Travis, F. & Parim, N. Default mode network activation and Transcendental Meditation practice: focused attention or automatic self-transcending? Brain Cogn. 111, 86–94 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Schneider, R. H. et al. Stress reduction in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: randomized, controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation and health education in Blacks. Circ. Cardiovasc. Qual. Outcomes 5, 750–758 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Norris, K. C. et al. A randomized controlled trial of meditation and health education on carotid intima-media thickness and major adverse cardiovascular events in Black men and women. Front. Med. 12, 1513699 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Schneider, R. H. et al. Long-term effects of stress reduction on mortality in persons > or = 55 years of age with systemic hypertension. Am. J. Cardiol. 95, 1060–1064 (2005).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Paul-Labrador, M. et al. Effects of a randomized controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation on components of the metabolic syndrome in subjects with coronary heart disease. Arch. Intern. Med. 166, 1218–1224 (2006).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Gaylord-King, C. et al. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of meditation and health education in the prevention of cardiometabolic disease in Black women. J. Womens Health 34, 1247–1256 (2025).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Jones, D. W. et al. 2025 AHA/ACC/AANP/AAPA/ABC/ACCP/ACPM/AGS/AMA/ASPC/NMA/PCNA/SGIM guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation and management of high blood pressure in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Hypertension 82, e212–e316 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

R.H.S. received support from NIH grant P50AT000082 for development of the research programme on which this Comment is based.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert H. Schneider.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

R.H.S. is a co-founder and holds equity in Total Health Centers, LLC. The other authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Schneider, R.H., Norris, K.C. & Brook, R.D. Transcendental Meditation to combat psychosocial stress, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Nat Rev Cardiol 23, 4–5 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-025-01235-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-025-01235-x

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing