A new study now finds that yoga could be a life saver for people recovering from a major heart attack. The research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Paris by a team from India, saw researchers studying almost 2,500 people recovering from heart surgery found breathing exercises and stretching boosted circulation and strengthened the heart.
Study authors found that a three-month programme of yoga while recovering from surgery following a heart attack resulted in lower risk. The researchers found that those who undertook a daily hour of breathing exercises and gentle body movement were about 16 per cent less likely to die over the next five years.
Furthermore, tests showed that participants' hearts were more efficiently pumping blood around the body.
Speaking about the study, lead author Professor Naresh Sen, from Hridaya Ganesha Sunil Memorial Super Speciality Hospital in Jaipur said that patients in the yoga arm undertook three months of an one hour programme specifically designed for cardiac patients that incorporated yoga and meditation in the morning along with a pattern of breathing exercises in the evening.
According to study authors, the trial involved patients who had suffered the most serious type of heart attack, where one of the major arteries is blocked and all had undergone surgery to widen the vessels, using a stent to allow blood to flow more freely.
Over the next five years, study authors found that there was a relative drop of 16 percent in mortality rate in the patients who were put on the three month yoga programme.
Researchers further found that their heart performance also improved with an 11 percent boost to the left ventricular ejection fraction. In comparison, those who did not practice yoga, they only saw a four percent rise.
The benefits remained even after adjustments for differences between patient groups, Professor Sen revealed.
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