The Effect of Listening to Al-Quran Recitation among Uncontrolled Hypertensive Muslim Patients Attending Primary Care Clinic in Kelantan, Malaysia: A Randomised Control Trial

INTRODUCTION: Prevalence of hypertension in Malaysia has been increasing over the years. Despite varieties of treatment, a large proportion of hypertensive patients still have uncontrolled blood pressure. Several non-pharmacological approaches have been used as non-pharmacological management to reduce blood pressure. This study intended to determine the effect of listening to Quran recitation on blood pressure among Muslim patients with uncontrolled hypertension. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This study was a randomized controlled trial involving 202 Muslim patients with uncontrolled hypertension. They were randomly allocated to either listening to Quran recitation group or control group. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate were measured at baseline and after the intervention. RESULTS: In the intervention group, the mean changes in systolic BP and diastolic BP were -5.9 and -3.8mmHg respectively while for heart rate was -4.06 bpm. In the control group, the mean changes in systolic BP and diastolic BP were -1.68 and -1.84 mmHg respectively while for heart rate was -1.39 bpm. ANCOVA analysis showed that the mean changes in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate between intervention and control group were statistically significant (P values = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a reduction of blood pressure immediately after listening to Quran recitation. However, a longer study on listening to Quran needs to be done to show a sustained decrease of BP of the patient.