PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Yoga improves quality of life, cardiovascular function in heart failure patients

Study shows yoga could be a complementary treatment for heart failure patients

2023-09-26
(Press-News.org) Previous studies have shown that yoga therapy and lifestyle modifications have improved heart failure patients’ quality of life and enhanced their cardiovascular function. A new study, presented at the American College of Cardiology Asia 2023 conference, examines the long-term outcomes of yoga therapy to determine the benefit of adding yoga therapy as a complementary treatment in the management of heart failure.

Heart failure is a form of cardiovascular disease where the heart muscle is either too weak or too stiff to pump properly, often leading to fluid buildup, shortness of breath and other complications. The New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Classification system is the most used classification system to determine the severity of a patient’s symptoms. The NYHA system places patients in one of four categories based on the limitations of their physical activity with Class I being the least severe and Class IV being the most severe. Clinicians also measure ejection fraction to determine how effectively the heart pumps blood.

The study included 75 heart failure patients at a tertiary care center in South India, who underwent coronary intervention, revascularization or device therapy within in the previous six months to one year. All of the patients included in the study were less than or equal to NYHA Class III and had been on optimized medical therapy for at least 6 months to one year. To be included in the study patients had to be between 30 to 70 years old and have a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of <45%.

The interventional group included 35 participants (31 men and 4 women) and 40 (30 men and 10 women) were in the non-interventional group. The interventional group received yoga therapy and guideline-directed medical therapy, while the non-interventional group only continued with standard guideline-directed medical therapy. Echocardiographic parameters were compared at various follow-ups to see the impact of yoga therapy on heart failure patients.

“Yoga is a combination of mind-body techniques, which is a set of physical exercises [asana] with breathing techniques [pranayama], relaxation and meditation that can be effectively used to stimulate physical and mental well-being,” said Ajit Singh, PhD, research scientist for the Indian Council for Medical Research at Kasturba Medical College & Hospital, Manipal Academy of Heart Education in Manipal, India, and the study’s lead author. “Our patients observed improvement in systolic blood pressure and heart rate compared to patients who were on medication without yoga.”

Participants in the yoga group were taken to the Department of Yoga at the hospital and an experienced yoga therapist taught selected yoga therapy like pranayama, meditation and relaxation techniques. Each session lasted around 60 minutes and participants were supervised for one week at the training center before being asked to continue self-administered yoga at home. Those in the yoga group were advised to perform yoga at least five days a week for 12 months. At the training center all the participants were taught together to perform the same steps, but individual support was available.

Researchers measured quality of life improvements using the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire, which uses 26 questions to evaluate quality of life in four aspects: physical, psychological, social and environmental health. The participants completed the questionnaire at enrollment, as well as at 24 weeks and 48 weeks of follow-up. According to the researchers, the study showed participants in the yoga group had improvement in endurance, strength, balance, symptom stability and quality of life. They also observed that while patients improved physically and psychologically, there was no improvement in social and environmental health.

Echocardiographic parameters did not show any significant differences between the two groups at baseline. At both the six- and 12-month follow-up improved biventricular systolic function was seen in the interventional (yoga) group compared to the non-interventional group. The interventional group also showed substantial improvement in functional outcomes as assessed by NHYA classification.

“This study proves that the addition of yoga therapy to standard medical management of heart failure leads to an improvement in left ventricular systolic function and quality of life in heart failure patients,” Singh said. “Hence, yoga therapy may improve physical well-being and left ventricular function among heart failure patients on guideline-directed optimal medical therapy.”

The ACC and the Philippine Heart Association will host ACC Asia 2023 on September 29-30 in Manila, Philippines.

Learn more at ACC.org/Asia2023

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is the global leader in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all. As the preeminent source of professional medical education for the entire cardiovascular care team since 1949, ACC credentials cardiovascular professionals in over 140 countries who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. Through its world-renowned family of JACC Journals, NCDR registries, ACC Accreditation Services, global network of Member Sections, CardioSmart patient resources and more, the College is committed to ensuring a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient care and outcomes. Learn more at www.ACC.org or follow @ACCinTouch.

 

###

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Understanding how choice overload in ChatGPT recommendations impacts decision-making

Understanding how choice overload in ChatGPT recommendations impacts decision-making
2023-09-26
Over the past few years, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has witnessed numerous breakthroughs. One such remarkable milestone was the development and adoption of chatbots and conversational agents based on large language models, including ChatGPT. These systems can engage in realistic, human-like conversations with users and help them in many ways, such as by curating information, generating recommendations, or assisting in complex tasks. Interestingly, owing to their pre-training on large amounts of data, chatbots like ChatGPT are capable of generating highly personalized recommendations, considering factors like user’s interests, ...

Elevated temperatures and climate change may contribute to rising drug and alcohol disorders

2023-09-26
Hospital visits from alcohol- and substance-related disorders are driven by elevated temperatures and could be further affected by rising temperatures due to climate change, according to new research by environmental health scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.  The study, which is published in the peer-reviewed journal Communications Medicine, is likely the first comprehensive investigation of the association between temperature and alcohol- and substance-related hospital visits.   “We ...

Unleashing the power of AI to track animal behavior

Unleashing the power of AI to track animal behavior
2023-09-26
LA JOLLA (September 26, 2023)—Movement offers a window into how the brain operates and controls the body. From clipboard-and-pen observation to modern artificial intelligence-based techniques, tracking human and animal movement has come a long way. Current cutting-edge methods utilize artificial intelligence to automatically track parts of the body as they move. However, training these models is still time-intensive and limited by the need for researchers to manually mark each body part hundreds to thousands of times. Now, Associate Professor Eiman Azim and team have created GlowTrack, a non-invasive movement tracking method that uses fluorescent dye markers to train ...

Successful optical biosensing using dual optical combs: High sensitivity and rapid detection of biomolecules with promising prospects

Successful optical biosensing using dual optical combs: High sensitivity and rapid detection of biomolecules with promising prospects
2023-09-26
Key points   Biosensing has been valuable for detecting biomolecules, including novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), but achieving both high sensitivity and rapidity has been challenging.   Rapid and high-sensitivity detection of SARS-CoV-2 was achieved by utilizing optical-to-electric frequency conversion of optical combs and active-dummy temperature compensation with dual-optical-comb configuration.   This enables ultra-early detection of infectious pathogens, health biomarkers, food contaminants, environmental hormones, and more, contributing to various preventive measures. Research Introduction ...

New book spotlights sophisticated Indigenous responses to mining in the conflict-affected North Cauca region in Colombia

2023-09-26
Indigenous communities act in sophisticated ways to deter unauthorised mining in Colombia, shows a recently published book by Postdoctoral Researcher Diana Arbeláez-Ruiz from the University of Eastern Finland. The book focuses on Indigenous people and mining in Colombia’s North Cauca region, where multiple armed groups and illicit economies operate. The research the book is based upon was carried out in 2016–2019. As the illegal armed group presence and illicit economies situation in the region has intensified since, the book remains highly topical today. Published by Routledge, the book documents what the Nasa Indigenous community do to stop unauthorised mining in their ...

Antarctica’s glacial border migrates for miles with the tide

2023-09-26
*Embargoed until 07:00 BST / 08:00 CEST, 26 September 2023* The grounding line of the southern Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica can shift up to 15 km (six miles) with changing tides, new analysis shows. The research, published today in The Cryosphere, examines the key region where land-based Antarctic ice spills over into the surrounding ocean. Observing and understanding the dynamics of this region can help scientists predict Antarctica’s response to climate change, and so how much global sea levels will rise. “We typically think of ice sheet change as being very slow, ...

Why endangered wildlife needs AML law coverage and banks need to share IWT intelligence

Why endangered wildlife needs AML law coverage and banks need to share IWT intelligence
2023-09-26
The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a fast-growing ‘financial portfolio’ within the larger illegal, violent, parallel transnational global economy. As such, it creates state-level security and development risks, especially in source countries. IWT is also known as wildlife trafficking, which includes the illicit trade of animals and plants, and derivative products such as pangolin scales, rhino horn, elephant ivory, lion and tiger bones, and leopard pelts. But many highly developed countries signed up to CITES, are yet to implement a crucial legal instrument required to prosecute IWT and the associated financial ...

Why ecological restoration without Indigenous leadership won’t last

2023-09-26
Imagine you’re sitting in your living room on a quiet evening with your family reading a book, when suddenly, complete strangers let themselves in your front door. If that wasn’t enough of a shock, before you can even find your voice to ask who they are, they begin rearranging your furniture, painting your walls different colors, bagging up possessions that are important to you, and appear to be swapping out the food in your refrigerator. They do not seem to mean you any harm and work with such purpose that you question yourself, wondering whether you may have forgotten ...

EWG study: Humans serve as sentinels for ‘forever chemicals’ harm to wildlife health

2023-09-26
WASHINGTON – A new paper by Environmental Working Group scientists proposes an intriguing concept: Humans can serve as a valuable resource for understanding the impact on other animal species of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.  “PFAS pollution is not just a problem for humans,” said David Andrews, Ph.D., senior scientist at EWG. “It’s a problem for species across the globe. This new paper delves into how humans serve as an early warning system ...

How to save plants from climate change? Just ask them

2023-09-26
Redwoods and oaks that thrive on California’s coastline and coastal mountains might soon start finding it harder to survive. Human-caused climate change is altering the temperatures and rainfall patterns to which those and other trees are accustomed, and many have already been pushed close to the edge of what they can endure. Identifying suitable new habitats will soon become a matter of life or death for some California native species, according to Lawren Sack, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. But if those trees could talk, where would they tell scientists they wanted to live? In a new study, a team led by Sack and other UCLA biologists ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

QUT scientists create material to turn waste heat into clean power

Major new report sets out how to tackle the ‘profound and lasting impact’ of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health

Cosmic crime scene: White dwarf found devouring Pluto-like icy world

Major report tackles Covid’s cardiovascular crisis head-on

A third of licensed GPs in England not working in NHS general practice

ChatGPT “thought on the fly” when put through Ancient Greek maths puzzle

Engineers uncover why tiny particles form clusters in turbulent air

GLP-1RA drugs dramatically reduce death and cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients

Psoriasis linked to increased risk of vision-threatening eye disease, study finds

Reprogramming obesity: New drug from Italian biotech aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity

Type 2 diabetes may accelerate development of multiple chronic diseases, particularly in the early stages, UK Biobank study suggests

Resistance training may improve nerve health, slow aging process, study shows

Common and inexpensive medicine halves the risk of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer

SwRI-built instruments to monitor, provide advanced warning of space weather events

Breakthrough advances sodium-based battery design

New targeted radiation therapy shows near-complete response in rare sarcoma patients

Does physical frailty contribute to dementia?

Soccer headers and brain health: Study finds changes within folds of the brain

Decoding plants’ language of light

UNC Greensboro study finds ticks carrying Lyme disease moving into western NC

New implant restores blood pressure balance after spinal cord injury

New York City's medical specialist advantage may be an illusion, new NYU Tandon research shows

Could a local anesthetic that doesn’t impair motor function be within reach?

1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5

In the wild, chimpanzees likely ingest the equivalent of several alcoholic drinks every day

Warming of 2°C intensifies Arctic carbon sink but weakens Alpine sink, study finds

Bronze and Iron Age cultures in the Middle East were committed to wine production

Indian adolescents are mostly starting their periods at an earlier age than 25 years ago

Temporary medical centers in Gaza known as "Medical Points" (MPs) treat an average of 117 people daily with only about 7 staff per MP

Rates of alcohol-induced deaths among the general population nearly doubled from 1999 to 2024

[Press-News.org] Yoga improves quality of life, cardiovascular function in heart failure patients
Study shows yoga could be a complementary treatment for heart failure patients