Yoga Improves the Lives of Cardiac Patients: Study Shows Potential Benefits
Yoga enhances the quality of life and cardiovascular function among those suffering from heart failure. This is demonstrated by the study conducted by the American College of Cardiology, presented at the Asia 2023 conference. According to researchers, yoga could be employed as a complementary treatment for patients with heart failure.
The scientists have now examined the long-term results of yoga therapy to determine the benefit of adding yoga as a complementary treatment in managing heart failure. Heart failure is a form of cardiovascular disease in which the heart muscle is either too weak or too stiff to pump properly, often leading to fluid buildup, shortness of breath, and other complications.
The New York Heart Association’s functional classification system is the most widely used to determine the severity of a patient’s symptoms. The NYHA system places patients into four categories based on the limitations of their physical activity. Additionally, doctors measure the ejection fraction, which is the ratio of blood ejected from the ventricle during systole to telediastolic volume, to assess how effectively the heart pumps blood.
The study included 75 heart failure patients at a tertiary care center in southern India who had undergone coronary intervention, revascularization, or device therapy in the previous six or twelve months. All patients in the study were classified as NYHA class III or lower and had been on optimized medical therapy for at least six months. To be included in the study, participants had to be between 30 and 70 years old and have a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 45%.
The intervention group comprised 35 participants, including 31 men and 4 women, while the non-intervention group consisted of 40 participants, with 30 men and 10 women. The intervention group received yoga therapy in addition to guided medical therapy, while the non-intervention group continued with standard guided medical therapy alone. Echocardiographic parameters were compared with various scheduled assessments to assess the impact of yoga therapy on heart failure patients.
