ORLANDO: An eight-week regimen of yoga proved safe for patients with chronic heart failure and helped reduce signs of inflammation often linked with death, according to a study released on Monday.
More than 5 million Americans have chronic heart failure, a long-term condition in which the heart no longer pumps blood efficiently to the other organs.
Health problems and deaths from the disease remain high despite widespread use of effective drug and device therapies to treat the condition.
Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta who measured the effects of an eight-week yoga regimen on 19 heart failure patients found the exercise routine reduced markers of inflammation associated with heart failure while also improving exercise tolerance and quality of life.
“Many people believe the addition of yoga may be beneficial in cardiac rehabilitation,” said the researchers, whose findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association.
