Ankara Bilkent City Hospital Trials VR and Classical Music for Hypertensive Urgency

Quotes

“Patients who arrive in the emergency department with markedly elevated blood pressure - readings of 180 mmHg or higher on the top number, or 110 mmHg or higher on the bottom number - are extremely common. We treat them with blood pressure medication, but what I kept noticing was how anxious and frightened many of these patients are. That matters medically, not just emotionally, because anxiety causes the body to release stress hormones that tighten the blood vessels and push blood pressure even higher. The emergency department environment itself - the noise, the bright lights, the uncertainty - can make that worse. This made me wonder: if we could help patients feel calmer, could we also help their blood pressure come down faster?”

“After 15 minutes, patients in the VR group had both a lower absolute blood pressure reading and a greater reduction from their starting point, compared to the control group. This was a statistically significant finding, meaning it was unlikely to be due to chance. The VR group's blood pressure dropped approximately 4–5 mmHg more than the control group. After that, the gap then narrowed, and from 60 minutes onwards the two groups were essentially equivalent.”

“I believe it can reasonably be considered as a supportive, patient-centred addition to standard care, especially for patients who are visibly anxious or distressed.”

“The suggestion of faster early blood pressure reduction in the first 15 minutes is clinically interesting. In a busy emergency department, getting blood pressure under control quickly is important - both for patient safety and for the efficient use of resources. If a non-drug intervention can accelerate that process even modestly, it has practical value.”

“However, the diminishing effect over time suggests that intervention supports early stabilization rather than long-term control of blood pressure.”

“Although this is a single-centre study, the results are interesting and deserve further investigation. They raise the possibility that this approach is not only safe and feasible, but offers meaningful benefits, particularly in reducing anxiety and helping to achieve faster blood pressure control during the early stages of treatment, and might avoid unnecessary medication. It is important to note that this approach was used in addition to, and not instead of, adaptation of the medication to reduce blood pressure.”