Hypertensive patients, systolic blood pressure drops ↓… 2.5 times the effect of stretching
A new study has found that if hypertensive patients add yoga to their usual exercise and continue for 3 months, they can drop their blood pressure 2.5 times more than simply stretching.
A research team from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Laval University in Quebec, Canada, revealed that this was the result of running an exercise training program for 60 men and women diagnosed with hypertension and metabolic syndrome. “Yoga can improve both health and well-being, and it has been confirmed to significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease,” said lead author of the study, Dr.
The research team divided the participants into two groups. One group had 30 minutes of aerobic exercise plus 15 minutes of yoga 5 times a week, and the other group did 30 minutes of aerobic exercise and 15 minutes of stretching 5 times a week. At the beginning of the study, there were no significant differences between the two groups in age, gender, smoking rate, body mass index (BMI), resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate. Participants had a systolic blood pressure greater than 140 mmHg and a diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 mmHg.
After three months, the research team measured and analyzed the participants’ blood pressure, weight, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and glucose and lipid levels. As a result, it was found that people who did yoga dropped 10 mmHg in systolic blood pressure. For those who did the stretch, it was only 4 mmHg lower. The yoga group also significantly lowered their resting heart rate.
In particular, as a result of evaluating Reynold’s risk score, it was analyzed that people who practiced yoga had a significantly lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease within the next 10 years. The research team said, “Hypertension patients should try to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease by exercising regularly and relieving stress.”
The results of this study (Impact of Yoga on Global Cardiovascular Risk as an Add-On to a Regular Exercise Regimen in Patients With Hypertension) were published in the ≪Canadian Journal of Cardiology≫ and the American health and medicine media ‘MedicalXpress’ ‘ introduced.