Benefits of yoga for African American heart failure patients.
BACKGROUND
The number of African American (AA) patients living with heart failure (HF) has been increasing, especially among the economically disadvantaged. Yoga therapy has been found to improve physical and psychological parameters among healthy individuals, but its effect in patients with HF remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of yoga therapy on cardiovascular endurance (VO2peak), flexibility, quality of life (QoL), and inflammatory markers on medically stable HF patients.


METHODS
Forty patients (38 AA, 1 Asian, and 1 Caucasian) with systolic or diastolic HF were randomized to the yoga group (YG, n = 21) or the control group (CG, n = 19). All patients were asked to follow a home walk program. Premeasurement and postmeasurement included a treadmill stress test to peak exertion, flexibility, interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD). QoL was assessed by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLwHFQ).


RESULTS
The statistical analyses (assessed by ANOVA and t-tests) were significant for favorable changes in the YG, compared with those in the CG, for flexibility (P = 0.012), treadmill time (P = 0.002), VO2peak (P = 0.003), and the biomarkers (IL-6, P = 0.004; CRP, P = 0.016; and EC-SOD, P = 0.012). Within the YG, pretest to posttest scores for the total (P = 0.02) and physical subscales (P < 0.001) of the MLwHFQ were improved.


CONCLUSIONS
Yoga therapy offered additional benefits to the standard medical care of predominantly AA HF patients by improving cardiovascular endurance, QoL, inflammatory markers, and flexibility.
Pullen
Paula R
PR
Department of Kinesiology and Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA. ppullen@msm.edu
Thompson
Walter R
WR
Benardot
Dan
D
Brandon
L Jerome
LJ
Mehta
Puja K
PK
Rifai
Luay
L
Vadnais
David S
DS
Parrott
Janice M
JM
Khan
Bobby V
BV
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D005080:Exercise Test; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015013:Yoga