The unloaded and loaded breathing groups also learnt how to use the water pressure threshold loading device and practised their allocated deep breathing technique (ie, unloaded or loaded). Measurements of resting heart rate and blood pressure were made both by the patients themselves in their home setting and by the investigators in the laboratory in the week before the patients began

training and in the week following the last training session. Statistical analysis was carried out by an investigator blinded to the identity of the intervention groups. Patients were recruited from those routinely attending the hypertension clinic of Srinagarind Hospital and came from mixed urban and rural areas around Khon Kaen in the north east of Thailand. Inclusion criteria were: essential hypertension Stage I or II (systolic blood pressure 140–179, diastolic blood pressure 90–109 mmHg) based on recommendations PD0332991 mw of JNC-VII (Chobanian et al 2003); age 35–65 years; good understanding and communication; independent ambulation. Exclusion criteria were: secondary hypertension; respiratory disease; diabetes mellitus; cardiac, renal or cerebrovascular disease; dyslipidemia; pregnancy within the last 6 months. Medication was continued unchanged for the duration of the study (10 weeks). Recruitment was by medical staff

and nurses of the Hypertension Unit of Srinagarind Hospital. For training, Trametinib cell line the patients used a new simple loaded breathing device, the Water Pressure Threshold Bottle, developed in our laboratory (Figure 2). The device consists of a plastic bottle with of two tubes passing through the lid. One tube provides an outlet through the top of the bottle and is connected with corrugated tube to a mouthpiece, while the other is a longer adjustable inlet tube passing into the water. The subjects breathed in through the mouthpiece and out through their nose. Thus, inspiratory resistance was determined by the column of water that was displaced, set by the length of the inlet tube below the water in the cylinder. The

device is simple and easy to use and adjust. It has the added advantage that the inspired air is humidified and the bubbling sound acts as feedback helping to establish a steady breathing pattern. A preliminary study with healthy elderly subjects found no evidence of hypocapnia, no changes in blood pressure, and only a small rise in heart rate while using the device (Jones et al 2004). Participants were trained by physiotherapists from Khon Kaen University. Training protocols: Patients in the unloaded breathing group inhaled deeply through the device with the inlet tube set just above the level of the fluid so the inspired air was humidified but there was no added resistance. For the loaded breathing group, the water level was set to provide an inspiratory load of 20 cmH2O.