Completed

Project Inspire: A New Translational Tool for Studying the Role of Breathing in Meditation

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What is being tested

Mindful Breathing (MB) Intervention

+ Usual Care (UC) Control Condition

Behavioral
Who is being recruted

Cardiovascular Diseases+5

+ Hypertension

+ Pathologic Processes

Over 50 Years
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Prevention Study

Interventional
Study Start: February 2011
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorUniversity of California, San Francisco
Last updated: January 28, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Study start date: February 1, 2011

Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

A recent National Health Interview Survey reported that breathing exercises were the second most common complementary and alternative medicine practice in the United States, following only the use of "natural products." With such widespread interest in breathing exercises, alone or as a component of practices such as meditation, a need exists for research that examines not only its efficacy, but also investigates potential mechanisms of action. Indeed, a recent National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Meditation Workshop recommended research to clarify biological pathways by which meditation practices, including breathing exercises, can impact health. To explore mechanisms underlying the health effects of breathing exercises, new translational tools are needed that can measure breathing patterns in both the clinic and natural environment. The primary objective of the present proposal is the application of a new technology to the investigation of pathways by which breathing exercises can affect health. For this project, the health-related outcome measure to be studied is a major cardiovascular risk factor, blood pressure.

Official TitleProject Inspire: A New Translational Tool for Studying the Role of Breathing in Meditation
NCT01264627
Principal SponsorUniversity of California, San Francisco
Last updated: January 28, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details

99 patients to be enrolled

Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

Prevention Study

Prevention studies aim to stop a disease from developing. They often involve people at risk and test things like vaccines, lifestyle changes, or preventive medications.



Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria

Female

Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.

Over 50 Years

Range of ages for which participants are eligible to join.

Healthy volunteers not allowed

If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.

Conditions

Pathology

Cardiovascular DiseasesHypertensionPathologic ProcessesRespiration DisordersRespiratory Tract DiseasesPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsVascular DiseasesRespiratory Aspiration

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria * Mean 24-hr SBP: 130-139 mmHg * Female * \> 50 years of age * Post menopausal, defined as greater than or equal to one year without a menstrual cycle. * Body Mass Index (BMI): 19-31 * English speaking (Patients not able to read and speak English will be excluded as the behavioral group interventions are conducted in English) * Has a personal physician Exclusion Criteria (Individuals will be filtered in the KP OSCA database according to the following ICD-9 codes): Respiration: * 491.X chronic Bronchitis incl COPD * 492.X emphysema * 493.X asthma * 494-496; 500-519: all kinds of chronic pulmonary conditions Cardiovascular: * 404.9 chronic ischemic heart disease * 425.X cardiomyopathies * 428.X heart failure * 430-438 cerebrovascular diseases Kidney: * 582-583 chronic glomerulonephritis * 584-588 renal failure Liver: \- 571.X chronic liver disease and cirrhosis Smoker: 305.1 Psychiatric: * 290-299 dementia/schizophrenia/ psychoses… * 303, 304 alcohol or drug dependence * 317-319 mental retardation Medications: * All blood pressure medications * All tranquilizers, benzodiazepins if prescribed regularly, e.g. every month * All narcotics if prescribed regularly, e.g. every month Other: \- Plan to relocate residence outside recruitment area during the intervention or follow- period

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives

2 intervention groups are designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups

Group I

Experimental
The MB intervention is based off of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Participants will be organized into cohorts of eight, and attend eight weekly MB sessions. Mindful breathing consists of closely "following the breath," throughout inhalation and exhalation, sustaining moment-to-moment awareness on the breathing process, and passively observing thoughts, affective states, perceptions and events, from a non-evaluative, non-judgmental perspective. No other intervention is included. No FDA drug or device is involved.

Group II

Usual Care consists of the standard care made available to participants through their primary physician. No intervention is included. No FDA drug or device is involved.

Study Objectives

Primary Objectives

Secondary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.
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CompletedNo study centers