Can Yoga Benefit Heart Failure Patients?
The Study
The randomized controlled study, published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, investigated the effect of yoga therapy on patients with heart failure. Researchers from Georgia State University in Atlanta, designated either yoga therapy sessions or a control group to 40 patients with heart failure for 8 to 10 weeks. The participants included 38 African Americans, 1 Asian and 1 Caucasian. Treadmill, flexibility, EKG tests, blood samples and quality of life questionnaire responses were obtained from the participants on the first and last day of the program.
All of the patients participated in a home walk program. The yoga group also participated in 16 regular sessions of yoga therapy for heart disease patients.
The Results
The researchers found that the yoga group had a 22 percent improvement in aerobic capacity. Furthermore, flexibility was improved by more than 4 cm on sit-and-reach tests. Findings also revealed that the yoga group had decreased inflammatory markers and improved quality of life scores.
"It's important to note the marked improvements in both physical and mental health with these patients, as around 25 percent of heart-failure sufferers experience severe depression," says researcher Paula R. Pullen, Ph.D. at Georgia State University, in a news release. "They often feel their lives are 'over' after a cardiac event and physical activity - in this case, yoga - can help curb those emotions."
The Main Point
This study is important because it shows that yoga therapy offers medically effective and cost-effective heart health and mental health benefits.
Your Thoughts
Are you a practicing yoga to improve wellness? Please share with us below.
Sources
Gavalas, Elaine. The Yoga Minibook for Stress Relief. Simon & Schuster Fireside. elainegavalas.com .
Published by Elaine Gavalas
Elaine's featured on the Today Show, Martha Stewart Living Today and other media. She's an exercise physiologist, nutritionist, yoga therapist and author of Yogi in the Kitchen, Yoga Minibook Series and Secr... View profile
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