Perbedaan Pengaruh Terapi Mendengarkan Murottal Dan Slow Deep Breathing Exercise Terhadap Penurunan Tekanan Darah Dan Denyut Jantung Pada Lansia Hipertensi

Introduction: Hypertension in the elderly is a chronic health problem that has the potential to cause cardiovascular complications. Non-pharmacological interventions are needed as complementary therapies to help control blood pressure and heart rate. Murottal listening therapy and slow deep breathing exercises are two relaxation approaches that have the potential to influence the regulation of the autonomic nervous system. Objective: The study aims to analyze the differences in the effects of murottal listening therapy and slow deep breathing exercises in reducing blood pressure and heart rate in hypertensive elderly. Method: Using a quasi-experimental design with two-group pretest–posttest with a total of 44 respondents with a sample division of 22 people/group and undergoing four intervention sessions. Results: The study showed that murottal therapy showed an average decrease in systolic blood pressure of 17.50 mmHg, diastolic 6.23 mmHg, and heart rate of 3.18 beats/minute. Meanwhile, slow deep breathing intervention resulted in a greater decrease, namely systolic 20.68 mmHg, diastolic 11.18 mmHg, and heart rate 8.55 beats/minute. Statistical analysis of the difference in the effect of the two interventions showed that the decrease in systolic blood pressure was p > 0.05 (no significant difference), the difference in diastolic blood pressure was p = 0.050 (at the limit of significance) and the decrease in heart rate showed a significant difference, with the advantage of slow deep breathing exercise (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Both interventions are effective as complementary therapy for hypertension sufferers, with slow deep breathing breathing techniques showing superior results in reducing heart rate in the elderly.