Download yoga, meditation, and heart health

YOGA, MEDITATION, AND HEART HEALTH
As discussed at the August 15, 2015 Walk With A Doc Program
Your mobile phone is ringing, your boss wants to talk to you and your partner wants to
know what's for dinner. Stress and anxiety are everywhere. How do you deal with it? Is
it dangerous to your health? Do meditation or yoga help with stress? Are there health
benefits?
In 2005, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association
formed a Task Force in to review this topic.
This covered:
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Vitamins, herbs, and diets Spirituality Bioenergetics (Acupuncture & Energy Transfer techniques) Mind/Body interaction. Some of their findings: 
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Acupuncture: studies have shown mixed results. Acupuncture dose decrease sympathetic outflow to the brain which leads to decrease in BP and in some studies, also less angina episodes Relaxation Therapy – one study of 192 men showed decease in BP and mortality Qi Gong – a relaxation technique showed a decrease readmission rate in post MI pts; and a decrease in stroke & mortality in hypertensive patients Reiki – no proven cardiacbenefits (so far) Spirituality – questions remain if this improves healing vs providing tools for coping, for grief, or for dealing with loss. MEDITATION Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Meditation originally was meant
to help deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. These days,
meditation is commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction. Those who meditate
can choose among a wide range of practices, both religious and secular. What they
have in common are a narrowing of focus that shuts out the external world and usually a
stilling of the body. Charles L. Raison, MD, clinical director of the Mind‐Body Program at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. After 6 weeks of training, patients showed less activation of their
immune systems and less emotional distress when they were put in a stressful situation.
We know stress is a contributor to all the major modern killers. Stress reduction could
be the key to meditation’s beneficial effect on health.
Science hasn’t yet connected the dots between what happens in the
meditating brain and the immune system. But a University of Wisconsin study saw
increased electrical activity in regions of the left frontal lobe, an area that tends to be
more active in optimistic people, after just eight weeks of training in meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM): a study of cardiac patients wasreported in a major
cardiology journal in 2012. Patients were randomized to TM or usual care:
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48% reduction in mortality, heart attacks, and strokes
24% reduction in CV mortality, revascularization, hospitalizations, and stress
levels
5 mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure
Average participant did 8 episodes per wk. Survival rates correlated with
adherence to the program (the more TM sessions per week, the better the
survival.
YOGA Yoga is a mind-body practice that combines stretching exercises, controlled breathing
and relaxation.
Yoga is felt to decrease blood prressure, improve pulmonary function and may decrease atherosclerosis and lipids. Yoga My Heart Study, JACC, 1/30/13. Found that in pts with A Fib, doing Yoga twice a week for 3 months: 
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25% reduction in actual A Fib episodes 60% reduction in perceived episodes of A Fib Decrease feelings of depress and anxiety Decrease in systolic and diastolic BP by about 5 mmHg each. ANGER & STRESS Studies have shown that increased stress increases cardiovascular risk at roughly the same rate as increases in cholesterol do. Anger 
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a large meta‐analysis showed that there is a significant increase in risk of heart attack, stroke, ruptured intracranial aneurysms, and ventricular arrhythmias in the two hours after an anger outburst the more anger outbursts a person had the higher their cardiovascular event rate. CONCLUSIONS: Stress and anger are important health issues and techniques to reduce/manage these are important Knowledge regarding Relaxation Therapy/Meditation/Yoga is growing rapidly. These techniques can: 
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lower BP lower CV events probably boost your immune system Provide numerous other health benefits particularly to you lungs and your musculoskeletal system. There is tremendous interest in this field. A Google Search of “Meditation Health Benefits” = 5,780,000 hits; “Yoga Health Benefits” = 15,400,000 hits! Ronald Fields MD Comprehensive Cardiology Suite 320 St Clare Medical BLDG 1203 Langhorne‐Newtown Rd 215‐750‐7818 ComprehensiveCardiology.Com