Yoga lovers and patients with cardiac disease are looking to see whether yoga therapy is helpful or works as a therapy for cardiac diseases. But most people don’t know yoga therapy works as a therapy and heals our body and mind. Yoga has entered Western society and medicine in the last decade. This ancient technique has advantages beyond flexibility and muscular tone as we learn more about it. (NCDs) have become pandemics and cause the most deaths globally. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and respiratory illnesses account for 80% of NCD mortality, according to the WHO.

Role of Yoga in Cardiovascular Risk Management

Tobacco use, a sedentary lifestyle, a lack of exercise, poor diets, and chronic psychosocial stress are the main causes of NCDs. Yoga is excellent for chronic inflammation and stress, which are typical NCD causes. Yoga and mindfulness may manage blood glucose and protect the cardiovascular system, according to recent studies. Yoga may also improve alertness and positivity and reduce aggression, sadness, and anxiety. These favorable results and patient desire for a natural, low-tech, affordable, and safe alternative to wellness are prompting some healthcare practitioners to include medical yoga in their practices.

Yoga Therapy and Heart Conditions

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of death, illness, and disability globally. It includes a wide range of syndromes, such as peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, arrhythmia, stroke, atherosclerosis, and hyperlipidemia. Even though there have been significant improvements in drugs, treatment strategies, and programs for CVD prevention and therapy, there are still some implementation issues and treatment constraints. A variety of risk factors are known to cause oxidative stress, which leads to endothelial disruption and dysfunction.

Role of Oxidative Stress in CVD

These conditions include dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, smoking, and psychological stress. These can set off a series of events that result in the development of CVD by involving inflammatory and vasoactive mediators, specifically interleukin-6, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. By stopping many of these various processes along this cascade, yoga therapy has the potential to be a substantial and affordable treatment for CVD.

Role of Oxidative Stress in CVD

These conditions include dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, smoking, and psychological stress. These can cause a chain of events that lead to CVD by involving inflammatory and vasoactive substances like interleukin-6, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. By stopping many of these various processes along this cascade, yoga therapy has the potential to be a substantial and affordable treatment for CVD.

Yoga Therapy as a Promising Approach

Research by Sarvottam et al. that suggests that a brief program based on yoga may lower the risk of CVD is interesting. In this study, a ten-day yoga intervention program significantly reduced the systolic blood pressure and body mass index of 51 overweight and obese men. These individuals also showed significant alterations in adiponectin and IL-6 levels, along with other inflammatory markers.

Yoga Physiological Impact

Yoga poses may help decrease blood pressure, expand lung capacity, enhance heart rate and respiratory function, improve circulation, and raise muscular tone, according to the American Heart Association. As mentioned earlier, yoga helps lower stress by optimizing and restoring the body’s homeostasis (lowering allostatic load) through increased parasympathetic and decreased sympathetic activities, respectively, and by lowering the HPA axis’ reactivity. Yoga may improve cardiovagal function and stop several inflammatory processes in the cascade toward CVD by reducing both of these pathways.

Science Study 1

A fascinating 2014 study by Krishna et al. assessed how yoga treatment affected heart failure patients. The study evaluated many parameters before and during the yoga session, including blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and rate pressure product (RPP). We previously noted that elevated HRV indicates parasympathetic tone and forecasts the speed at which the heart rate calms down or returns to normal following an increase in heart rate due to a stressor. RRP, on the other hand, is an indication of myocardial oxygen consumption and cardiac load. These two gauge the autonomic function of the heart.

Science Study 2

This study randomly assigned 130 heart failure patients to either normal medical treatment alone or a yoga intervention program. We measured cardiac autonomic function, blood pressure, and heart rate both before and after the 12-week intervention. With all of the p values less than 0.05, the findings showed that the yoga group’s HR, BP, and RPP decreased more than those of the control group. There was a significant drop in the parasympathetic nervous system modulation (measured by the high-frequency normalized unit, or Hfnu) and a significant rise in the sympathetic nervous system modulation (measured by the low-frequency normalized unit, or Lfnu) compared to the controls. These changes showed that the HRV was better.

Research Result

According to this research, people with heart failure may benefit greatly from yoga therapy in addition to conventional medical care. Furthermore, it is crucial to keep in mind that patients with severe and/or decompensated heart failure may not handle physical activity well. However, these patients may tolerate yoga, especially the gentler asanas, breathing techniques, and meditation. Numerous randomized controlled studies have examined yoga as a supplementary and integrative treatment for the management of hypertension.

Yoga Can Help With Heart Failure Management

Overall, researchers estimate that yoga treatment lowers systolic blood pressure by about 10 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by about 8 mmHg. It’s important to remember that yoga seems to be beneficial for hypertension alone—not pre-hypertension. Currently, we cannot advise yoga therapy as a stand-alone treatment for hypertension; we can only suggest it as an addition to antihypertensive medication. In addition, breathing and meditation seem to be more crucial elements of yoga therapies than actual yoga poses for individuals with hypertension. By increasing parasympathetic activity and lowering the sympathetic tone, these yoga practice elements may counteract the excess sympathetic activity associated with hypertension.

Yoga Aids in Self-Regulation

Furthermore, the particular elements of yoga practice may aid in self-regulation, which is especially important when the body is under stress and allows the mind and body to cooperate to balance the body’s physiological, emotional, autonomic, and psychological systems. Intriguing 2013 research on the benefits of Iyengar yoga supports this notion. Following an eight-week yoga program intervention, survey results strongly indicated that the practice improved participants’ ability to regulate their behavior in terms of their physical function, quality of sleep, dietary choices and lifestyle choices, their reduction of stress and anxiety, and their improvement of calm mental and emotional states.

Yoga Work as a Life Changer

Despite the growing evidence that practicing yoga may lower blood pressure, it’s important to remember that many studies have also included elements of the “yogic lifestyle,” such as exercise, dietary changes, and/or supportive advice and counseling. As of yet, the precise processes behind yoga’s potential advantages for blood pressure regulation are unclear. To identify the best yoga practices, yoga program design, and treatment plan, more carefully controlled studies are required to explore the potential benefits of yoga for lowering blood pressure in those who have both pre-hypertension and hypertension.

Yoga Potential for Atrial Fibrillation Management

Additionally beneficial as a supplemental treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF) is yoga therapy. The autonomic nervous system significantly influences the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Additionally, an imbalance in the sympathetic and parasympathetic neural systems may partially explain the disease entity. A 2013 study by Lakkireddy et al. assessed the effects of a three-month yoga intervention program on 49 individuals with paroxysmal AF. We evaluated both symptomatic and asymptomatic AF events before the intervention and throughout the three-month control period.

Researcher Believe

P values less than 0.001 indicated statistically significant reductions in both symptomatic and asymptomatic AF episodes. Research participants’ levels of anxiety and sadness significantly decreased, while their overall health, physical functioning, vitality, social functioning, and mental health all improved. Researchers believe that yoga therapy benefits these AF patients by restoring sympathetic and parasympathetic balance at the HPA axis, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, and suppressing atrial remodeling, micro-reentry circuits, and AF triggers.

Conclusion

Yoga therapy holds significant promise as a complementary approach to managing various aspects of cardiovascular disease, ranging from hypertension to heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Yoga offers a holistic and integrative approach to promoting cardiac health and overall well-being by targeting multiple pathological pathways involved in CVD. We need to conduct further research to better understand the mechanisms underlying yoga’s therapeutic effects and optimize its integration into comprehensive CVD management strategies. Join us on this transformative trip to unlock the measureless eventuality of yoga and cultivate a healthier, happier, and more balanced life. If you ever feel confused or need guidance, reach out to us through our contact form. I wish you a fulfilling and perfect yoga experience ahead!