The impact of clove tree essential oil on the functions of the cardiovascular system of the elderly depending on its initial state
Objective. To study the effect of clove tree essential oil on the cardiovascular function of the elderly with normal blood pressure and with small deviations in the direction of hypertension and hypotension. Materials and methods. The study included 293 elderly women divided into 3 control (sessions of relaxation psychotherapy) and 3 experimental (sessions of relaxation psychotherapy combined with sessions of aromatherapy with clove tree essential oil) groups by blood pressure (normal, small deviations towards hypertension and hypotension), each of which was divided into three subgroups by exposure time (10, 20 and 30 minutes). Before and after the sessions, systolic, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate of the testees were measured, and then the following indicators were calculated: pulse pressure, stroke volume, minute cardiac output, average dynamic arterial pressure, total peripheral vascular resistance, heart index, Robinson index, Kerdo index, coefficient of efficiency of blood circulation. Results . It was found that the effect of clove tree essential oil depends on the initial level of blood pressure. The testees with a slightly increased blood pressure (up to 140 mm Hg) after aroma sessions of all durations the blood pressure became normal. Accordingly, the values of the minute cardiac output, heart index, coefficient of efficiency of blood circulation, Robinson index were normalized. The testees with normal blood pressure, the sessions of aroma psycho-relaxation practically did not cause changes in parameters characterizing the functions of the cardiovascular system. The testees with moderate hypotension (on the average 110 mm Hg) during the aroma sessions had the shifts to the normal of the parameters characterizing the functions of the cardiovascular system. Thus, clove tree essential oil has a normalizing effect on the function of the cardiovascular system of elderly women at all its initial values.