Ajit Singh, an ICMR research scientist at Kasturba Medical College & Hospital in Karnataka, conducted the study on 75 patients ranging in age from 30 to 75 at a tertiary care center in south India. “Yoga therapy may improve physical well-being and left ventricular function among heart failure patients on guideline-directed optimal medical therapy,” said Singh, the lead author.
The findings were presented at the American College of Cardiology Asia 2023 conference in Manila. All of the patients had undergone coronary intervention, revascularization, or device therapy within the previous six months to one year and had a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of higher than 45%. The interventional group included 35 participants (31 men and 4 women) who got yoga therapy as well as medicinal therapy based on guidelines. The non-interventional group consisted of 40 participants (30 men and 10 women) who solely received standard guideline-directed medical therapy.
Evaluating the Holistic Benefits of Yoga on Cardiac Patients
To assess the impact of yoga therapy on heart failure patients, echocardiographic parameters were examined at various follow-ups. Participants in the yoga group taught specific yoga therapy practices such as pranayama, meditation, and relaxation. Each session lasted around 60 minutes, and participants were observed at the training center for one week before being allowed to continue self-administered yoga at home.
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The researchers then used the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire to assess participants’ quality of life improvements and discovered that those in the yoga group improved in endurance, strength, balance, symptom stability, and quality of life. Surprisingly, while patients’ physical and psychological health improved, there was no increase in their social and environmental health.
Yoga as a Complementary Therapy to Enhance Cardiac Health and Quality of Life
“This study proves that the addition of yoga therapy to standard medical management of heart failure leads to an improvement in left ventricular systolic function and quality of life in heart failure patients,” Singh said.
“Our patients observed improvement in systolic blood pressure and heart rate compared to patients who were on medication without yoga,” he added.
References:
- Sharma K, Basu-Ray I, Sayal N, Vora A, Bammidi S, Tyagi R, Modgil S, Bali P, Kaur P, Goyal AK, Pal DK, Arvind H, Jindal K, Garg V, Matyal B, Thakur N, Chhikara A, Kaur N, Maanju P, Bhatia KS, Pannu V, Gupta V, Malik N, Malik R, Kumar R, Kaur R, Bhatt V, Bhalla A, Mohanty M, Singh G, Sharma SK, Sivapuram MS, Mathur D, Khanra D, Anand A. Yoga as a Preventive Intervention for Cardiovascular Diseases and Associated Comorbidities: Open-Label Single Arm Study. Front Public Health. 2022 Jun 13;10:843134. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.843134. PMID: 35769774; PMCID: PMC9234218.
- Metra M, Teerlink JR. Heart failure. Lancet. 2017 Oct 28;390(10106):1981-1995. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31071-1. Epub 2017 Apr 28. PMID: 28460827.
Source: Medindia
