Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors Improved With Yoga and Aerobic Exercise
Patients with heart disease who engage in aerobic exercise and practice yoga experience twice the reductions in blood pressure, body mass index, and cholesterol when compared with those who only engage in 1 of the physical activities.
The study was presented at the 8th Emirates Cardiac Society Congress in collaboration with the American College of Cardiology Middle East conference in Dubai.
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In their study, the researchers recruited 750 patients with coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. They randomly assigned aerobic exercise to 225 patients, yoga to 240 patients, and both yoga and aerobic exercise classes to 285 patients. All patients completed three 6-month sessions.
While patients assigned to only aerobic exercise or yoga experienced similar reductions in blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, weight, and weight circumference, those in the combination group experienced 2 times greater reductions in these coronary risk factors. Additionally, those in the combined group had significant improvements in left ventricular ejection fraction, diastolic function, and exercise capacity.
“Combined … yoga and aerobic exercise reduce mental, physical and vascular stress and can lead to decreased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity,” the researchers concluded. “Heart disease patients could benefit from learning … yoga and making it a routine part of daily life.”
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Yoga and aerobic exercise together may improve heart-disease risk factors [press release]. Washington, DC: American College of Cardiology; October 19, 2017. http://www.acc.org/about-acc/press-releases/2017/10/19/08/47/yoga-and-aerobic-exercise-together-may-improve-heart-disease-risk-factors. Accessed October 20, 2017.