Impact of aromatherapy neck massage on resting cardiovascular parameters in patients with chronic kidney disease and secondary hypertension: a self-controlled study

OBJECTIVE: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by kidney damage persisting for 3 months or more. Hypertension (HTN) is a common cause of CKD progression. Previous studies had shown that aroma massage can effectively reduce systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in HTN patients. However, no study has examined its impact on resting cardiovascular (CV) parameters. Thus, the objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of aromatherapy massage on resting CV parameters in patients with CKD associated with secondary HTN. METHODS: Thirty participants with CKD‐associated secondary hypertension received each of the three sessions in the repeated‐measure design: [i] Neem, Ylang‐ylang and Frankincense oil (NYF) massage on Day‐1, [ii] Neem oil massage on Day‐2, and [iii] a control rest session on Day‐3. SBP, DBP and pulse rate (PR), Pulse pressure (PP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), rate pressure product (RPP), and double product (Do‐P) were assessed immediate pre‐ and post‐session changes (within‐session analysis) and average values across sessions were compared (between‐session analysis) before and after intervention. RESULTS: The results showed a significant reduction in RPP in NYF and Neem session compared with control with no significant changes in SBP, DBP, PR, PP, MAP and Do‐P in between session analysis. Within‐session analysis showed a significant reduction in SBP, DBP, PR, PP, MAP, Do‐P and RPP in NYF and Neem session, whereas control session showed significant reduction in PR and Do‐P with no significant changes in SBP, DBP, PP and MAP. CONCLUSION: The results of this exploratory study suggest that aromatherapy massage using NYF essential oil may induce short‐term within‐session reductions in resting CV parameters and may help reduce CV workload, as reflected by changes in RPP, in patients with CKD‐associated secondary hypertension.