Chronic heart failure patients reap benefits of this ancient art
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center disclose in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, patients with chronic heart failure appear to have a better quality of life and state of mind if they practice Tai Chi on a regular routine.
For the background information in this new study researchers had written in brief in history patients with chronic heart failure had been considered too weak for exercise, this thinking had been carried on through the late 1980's that these patients should avoid exercise. It was a standard medical recommendation. Initial evidence advocates that meditative exercise could hold benefits for those patients with chronic systolic heart failure. This is yet to be tested rigorously in a large clinical sample.
Researchers had monitored and evaluated 100 patients with systolic heart failure. Patients had been recruited between May 2005 and September 2008. At random selection half of the patients had taken a 12 week Tai Chi exercise, the other half matched in time had received education.
Those in the Tai Chi group had attended two one hour classes a week. The education classes were held twice weekly and headed by a nurse practitioner. The patients in total were similar in heart disease severity, rate of comorbities and demographics.
When the twelve weeks ended, those in the Tai Chi group had remarkably greater improvement in quality of life in comparison to the education group. They also had more self confidence to perform particular exercise associated activities, referred to as self-efficacy. These participants were more physically active and had an overall greater sense of well being.
Researchers had concluded Tai Chi exercise is safe and has good rates of adherence, could be valuable in the improvement of daily exercise, quality of life, self-efficacy and the mood in those patients who are frail and unconditioned with systolic heart failure. The more restricted concentration on traditional measured exercise capacity could underestimate the possible benefits of integrated interventions like those such as Tai Chi.
In March of this year, Dr. Peter M. Wayne, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Tai Chi and Mind-Body Research Program at Harvard's Medical School's Osher Research Center stated there is a “growing body of carefully conducted research is building a compelling case for tai chi as an adjunct to standard medical treatment for the prevention and rehabilitation of many conditions commonly associated with age,"
For more information on the value of Tai Chi for health there are numerous resources online including Tai Chi Health.
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